


Ghost King Meets Magic

by arvidia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Asexual Character, Book 4: House of Hades, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Gen, Major Plot Deviations, That's when the stories are set, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-01 20:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5220095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arvidia/pseuds/arvidia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Nico was blasted off the Argo II by Khione along with Leo, except in different directions? When Nico ends up in the magical world of Harry Potter, he is sent on a mission. After finding comfort and solace at Hogwarts, will he want to return and aid in the quest to stop the Second Giant war?</p><p>OFFICIALLY DISCONTINUED. I am merely posting the last eight chapters on AO3 for closure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Collision

**Author's Note:**

> i wouldn't get into this story unless you're prepared for an incomplete ending. also, fair warning, this writing honestly isn't that great, because it was my first story from about...three years ago? so i was twelve.

**NICO POV**

I looked up from my spot, in a position where I was face flat on the ground. A sneering boy stared at me as if I was filth, with two boys who looked a whole lot like his minions. "Well, Potty, got a new little friend, and I must say, your standards are sinking lower than filthy mudbloods. He already seems to be a failure." Nobody insults a son of Hades. Nobody. I could deal with him later, once my back wasn't hurting like crazy.

Quickly scanning over the boy, I saw that he was just one of those people you always see, thinking they are better than you even if they were not even close to it. He had a pale face, and hair that was white-blonde. His eyes were a shocking grey, and he looked strikingly similar to a child of Athena. Before I could retort his insult, someone spoke up.

"No idea who he is." a boy with messy black hair and green eyes said, pointing up to a hole in the roof. He could've been Percy's brother, if it weren't for his eyes, a darker shade of green, and a peculiar lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. "All I know is that the sky is raining boys that radiate death." It seemed like that one sentence may have been the only time that the boy ever told a joke to the other.

Where was I anyway? All I remembered was getting launched off the Argo II by Khione because apparently I wouldn't freeze over in ice. Then I remember crashing in to a train after the longest flight in air I'd ever had. It was amazing how I hadn't been zapped to death, traveling through Zeus's domain.

I slowly flipped over onto my back, groaning, kind of impressed at how I drilled a hole through the top of the train. The sky was beautifully grey. I mean, sure if it rained, I would get dripping wet. And then I realized I shouldn't have thought that, because soon, thunder started to clap, and my not-so-friendly uncle Zeus contradicted my thought.

Quickly scrambling up, I sat onto a seat, inching away from the rain every few seconds. Apparently the blonde boy left, while I was distracted by ADHD, so I missed a whole argument. Shame, since it looked like it was just heating up. Looking around me, I saw a boy with blonde hair, and a slightly chubby face, along with a red-haired girl, as well as a girl with dirty blonde hair. And of course, the Percy look-alike from before. Naturally, they looked at me oddly before I passed out.

**»«-»«**

**HARRY POV**

Before Ginny could properly introduce Luna "Loony" Lovegood, a boy fell down onto the roof. And no, not just any boy. The boy was simply...Creepy.

With an almost skeletal body frame, as if he lived off a grape day, he had dark bags under his eyes, as well as a milky white face and borderline black eyes. I would not be surprised if he was a vampire. And along with the scraggly black hair and full on black outfit, he was the whole package. He seemed oddly American, but we were in England.

And of course, Malfoy chose this moment to stride in like owned the world, making a remark about the suspicious boy on the floor. I had said something, which I had forgot, but before I knew it, Neville, of all people, had to hold me back, after he put down a strange plant.

Apparently by this time, death boy had flipped over, groaning in pain, and looked up to the stormy skies. It was like that motion cued the storm, and the boy quickly had to run away from the hole in the roof. He quickly settled down in one of the seats, before passing out.

Luna giggled, "Seems like the Nargles made him go insane." Ginny in turn giggled after she said this, as if Nargles were a common thing in Luna's world.

"Guess what I got for my birthday?" said Neville.

"Another Remembrall?" I replied, recalling the marble-like device Neville's grandmother had sent him in an effort to improve his abysmal memory.

"No," said Neville, "I could do with another one, though, I lost the old one ages ago...No, look at this..."

He picked up the plant from before, the other on tightly gripping onto his toad, Trevor. It appeared to be a small gray cactus in a pot, except covered in boils rather than spines.

"Mimbilus Mimbletonia" Neville said proudly.

I looked up at the hole, seeing that it had stopped raining, as the train continued on its path to Hogwarts. Soon Ron and Hermione joined us, to see the odd boy asleep on the train's seat. After a quick explanation, they told me that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson would be Slytherin prefects.

Oh boy, this would be an interesting year...Not to mention that the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher could be anyone...Even someone from the Ministry of Magic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/65054832-ghost-king-meets-magic-%E2%80%A2-harry-potter-heroes-of  
> Story on fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10124886/1/Ghost-King-Meets-Magic
> 
> Those two links are up to Chapter 16, I just thought I'd post this here after really long hiatus. Well, more like two hiatuses.
> 
> The writing is probably irritating for some of you, but I wrote this two years ago. I'll come back to it some day, but I have to make sure that I don't completely lose motivation for the story and end up dropping it again.


	2. Dreams

**NICO POV**

I dreamed that night. Me, being extremely confused as to my location, got my questions answered. For example, who were the kids on the train, and why did they seem like no ordinary mortals?

When I passed out, a scene opened up before me. It was the Underworld, which was something to be expected. And of course, my dad stood in front of me. What did he want me to do, so soon after my moment of weakness, trapped in that horrid jar. It was the first time I saw him, or the underworld since then, and started to seem glad it wasn't as bad as Tartarus.

"Nico," said my father, "Expect you are quite curious as to where you are." He took a sharp breath, as if it had been a long time since he had uttered the words he was about to say. "You know, Hecate, goddess of magic?" I nodded, Cabin 20, one of the minor goddesses. "Well, many years ago, her children started to have babies with mortals. These Hecate legacies, as the Romans would call them, had gotten the power to perform magic, except now it was limited, and they required incantations, and wands. Whenever Hecate was in a good mood, she would bless a muggle, or mortal with the same powers as these "wizards" had. Soon, the godly blood faded from the lineage of the wizards. Most of the wizard population resides in England, and you are currently in the train to one of the biggest wizarding schools, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

He gave me a moment to process the information, and I realized the story was completely believable, even if it sounded corny. I allowed myself to chuckle very softly at the name of the school, before asking my next question. "So what do you expect me to do, father," I said carefully, "How does this concern me?"

My father pondered on the question for a while, thinking about what to tell me, and I knew it was a complicated matter. "Attend this school. I want to see what Hecate has been up to lately. I'll ask her to bless you with magic. But be certain not to reveal where you came from, or who you are. Finally, try to trust no one. I suspect you've already learned this, though. These two worlds are not to be crossed together, and you are the first demigod, who knows they are a demigod at least, to step into Hogwarts for several centuries. Also, leave the ghosts alone. As much as I hate it, us gods swore to interfere as little as possible with the wizards." And before I knew it, the dream abruptly ended.

My eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the bright white surrounding me. Three blurry faces stood above me, one with bright red hair, another with bushy brown hair, and the all to familiar messy black hair.

»=«=»=«=»=«

**RON POV**

Blimey, after we saw that boy that passed out, I thought a dementor passed through the train. Even unconscious, the person sitting before us looked extremely gloomy. And then the hole in the roof. How does someone survive an impact like that?

Naturally, we took him to the infirmary, before quickly fleeing back to the Great Hall. I quickly slipped into an empty seat, along with Harry and Hermione, silently loathing the stares Harry received. Guess all the Daily Prophet's talk had quite the effect.

Professor Dumbledore started his annual speech, introducing the overly pink woman, we would come to know as Professor Umbridge, the new DADA teacher.

"Hem, hem." Professor Umbridge called for everybody's attention. Bloody hell, what was she thinking, interrupting such an important tradition? She continued on with a speech, me only hearing "Blah, blah, blah, happy faces, blah, blah, perfect what can be perfected, blah, blah, blah."

"What does that mean?" Harry whispered to Hermione, who had probably heard the whole bloody speech, if not memorized it by heart.

"It means," Hermione started with a serious expression. "That the ministry is taking over at Hogwarts." I might've been concerned about this some other time, but at that moment, I wanted food.

After stuffing my face with such exquisite feast, Hermione suggested we ask Professor Dumbledore if we could check up on the boy. He approved, and we made our way over to the infirmary.

"Here to see the boy?" Madam Pomfrey started, "He needs his rest, but you can see him. He seems to be quite fine for hitting the train's roof hard enough to tear through it. Dear, there are going to be some questions from whoever fixes up that hole..."'

Surprising, that was one of the first times she ever let us visit someone so soon after they came to the infirmary.

Oh joy, and when we walked over, we managed to catch him just about to wake up. What I expected to see was a very groggy boy. What I didn't expect, was that the room would have an odd sort of heaviness, as I saw the guarded look in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be posting a chapter a day, but for those of you who are more impatient, I suggest just going to the links that I posted in the notes of the first chapter.


	3. Meeting

**NICO POV**

The scene around me slowly became less blurry, and I tried to stifle a yawn. I was not about to give the impression that I was weak, since that was definitely not true.

When my eyes were fully focused, I was shocked at the amount of white. Only one place possible could be so white, and still contain me and my liking for black, in a similarly white bed. An infirmary. I flipped onto my back, no longer looking at the white walls of the room, to see three people standing in front of me.

The raven-haired boy from before and two others were the ones who had stood above my bed. I could see by the way they looked at each other, wondering what to do, that they were really good friends. And they probably just came, because they seemed really unprepared to see me waking up. After all, I was a light sleeper.

"Hi..." I muttered, still tired from flying across the globe, and smashing back first into a train. My back ached, probably from the damage of hitting a train that hard. I still wondered how I was alive, even if I was a demigod, I had a high chance of snapping my spine, which would result in death. Especially in my fragile state.

Seeing those three made me wonder if I'd ever have friends like that. The last time I was that close to someone was with my sister, and she got crushed by a defective robot thing...All for a little Mythomagic figurine of Hades. I had to stop thinking about Bianca, before I emotionally reacted.

A boy with a bright red crop of hair spoke out, "What's your name? I'm Ron Weasley." He held out his hand, and I reached out to shake it. While doing this, I thought if I should tell him a fake name. I decided against it, seeing as I would be here for a while. I didn't think I'd be able to shadow travel out of this mission, as it sounded important, involving the fate of two magical worlds.

"Nico di Angelo." I answered, hoping I didn't sound too suspicious. The first few words you speak with another were always the ones people based their impressions about you on. As a son of Hades, this was a lesson I had to learn over the years, and not always the easy way.

The only girl out of the trio, who had bushy brown hair, chose to talk next, "Hermione Granger. I suspect you aren't a pureblood, since di Angelo isn't a surname I've seen." This girl had the ability to deduce things like a child of Athena. Even though she probably wasn't. Pureblood must've meant having both parents as wizards, because by my father's explanation, I could tell that most magical folk cared a lot about blood.

"Half-blood. My dad is the wizard." I addressed Hermione's question. It was partially true.

I looked at the last person, waiting for him to say his name, when finally Hermione said in disbelief, "You don't know who Harry Potter is? Well, I suppose even America has their own conflicts to deal with..." I could tell she was slightly confused, most likely because she had been exposed to so little in the world, since she put on what I liked to call the Thinking Hat. When you're stuck with an Athenian child, especially Annabeth, you notice these things.

"Hello, Nico," Harry said with a smile. He seemed glad, but what for, I didn't know. Before Harry could say anything else, Hermione had a small moment of realization.

"Oh yes! Which school are you from? Only people who aren't muggles can penetrate the charm on the train, or else they see a wall. That's what it says in Hogwarts, A History, at least." Hermione finished with a frown, apparently befuddled by how a book could possibly be wrong.

I knew my next words would start the web of lies I'd need to spin. An art piece like one made by Arachne. I froze up slightly, thinking about if Annabeth and Percy would make it through Tartarus together. And how I promised to lead everyone to the Doors of Death. Before they could notice the motion, I had to quickly think of something to call the "school".

"Clarion House of Battling." I finally decided on a name, with the same abbreviation as Camp Half-Blood.

"Never heard of it. Actually, I didn't even know there were wizards in America." Hermione stated, "Do you do a lot of practical lessons, since it is battling we are talking about after all.

I thought about how we learned no spells, but rather combat with actual weapons. "Let's just say it's complicated...But for the sake of the situation, let's say yes."

**»«-»«**

**HERMIONE POV**

Nico was an odd one. First of all, his name probably meant either "The Victorious Angel," or "Angel of the Dead." I did dabble in a few languages, and that included Italian. Second, he looked horribly sleep deprived. He had bags under his eyes, highly contrasting with his pale face, and I could see that he was trying to stop a yawn when he saw us. Why? I don't even know. And that's something I hate to say.

And his school. I had never heard of it, and I wasn't even sure if there was a wizard population in America. And if his school involved a lot of battle, then was Nico dangerous? He did seem emotionally unstable. He even tried to dodge the question about practical lessons, too. And who knows when was the last time he smiled, for crying out loud! But I knew from cases like Sirius Black, and Bagman Crouch, not to judge a person just on what I saw. I thought about looking him up later.

Of course, since he probably had a different curriculum then us, I did the right thing to do. Offer to tutor him. Supposing that he did transfer over here, because he would not be getting back to his home in a long time. Studying is a habit that should be promoted no matter how creepy the tutee.

"Who would the headmaster of this school be? I want to talk to him about transferring over to this school." Nico asked. Perfect opportunity to ask him.

It looked like Ron wanted to answer, but he knew me well enough to notice that I was about to ask something regarding education.

"Professor Dumbledore. Also, if you do transfer, I'd be glad to tutor you, since you probably learn different things than us..." I said. After saying that, I wondered if this was really a good idea.

"That would be great." He gave me a sincere smile, and for a moment I was shocked. "Now, would you mind leaving, not to be rude. I just need to contact the principal of my school."

To respect his wishes, we left, because he really didn't seem like someone you wanted to be on the bad side of. I walked out slowly, because there was so much to learn about Nico. Especially how he was going to contact his school. I saw him pull out a necklace that reflected light, as well as a spray bottle. He almost tossed a shiny gold coin, before deciding to not do so. I quickly bolted out, so he wouldn't catch sight of me.

It seemed like he was going to have a chat with Professor Dumbledore, as well, because I saw our headmaster walk towards the infirmary. It seemed like it would be an interesting year, especially with the addition of Nico. What secrets did he have to hide, and how many would we find?


	4. Enrolled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swishy wishy wands.

**NICO POV**

I thought about contacting Chiron. But then I had another thought, what if that would just be a hindrance to my mission? After all, the demigods would most likely try to find me. And I needed to collect as much information on the wizards as possible, and to be serious, I was really curious about them too. Camp Half-Blood would all think I was dead if I didn't come back. It wasn't like I was a valuable asset towards the camp, or the quest. You wouldn't believe how many times I've wondered if they kept me at camp so that I wouldn't go on a rampage.

All in all, I didn't really have a reason to waste a drachma on an Iris Message.

Which led me to think about how I found all my demigod supplies. Strangely, after I passed out in the train, a backpack fell shortly after I had fallen. I mean, it wouldn't be too strange if it had fallen somewhere else on the train, but through the same hole I fell through? Especially when the train had probably traveled a few hundred miles after the original hole had been made...I thanked my dad, even though it was possible it wasn't him who gave me this bit of assistance. Every once in a while, it was nice to think that he didn't want me dead.

The backpack was currently resting on the side of my bed, so I thought that I might as well have some of the ambrosia I kept stored in a little zippy bag. I was going to be here for about a year, most likely, and I didn't want to miss any of the action that might happen.

Especially with the opportunity of having an actual live friend. Even if they were insane. I know what you're thinking, Nico + Friend = Very unlikely. But as long as they didn't know my identity, I would be good.

After feeling around some more for the ambrosia, I finally found it, and took out a tiny chunk. Just enough so that I would get healed, but not burn from the inside out. I put it in my mouth, but I couldn't remember what it tasted like, because after a moment, it was gone.

A feeling of relaxation spread through my body, as I just discovered that my muscles were really tensed up from pain that I couldn't feel. I wanted to sleep, but before I could, someone walked in exclaiming.

"Now let's see those wounds...Ah! What quick healing, you'll be released by tomorrow morning at this rate!" Naturally, it was Madam Pomfrey, the only healer in Hogwarts, "You have a visitor, and it's the headmaster himself." She seemed unusually happy for someone who had probably seen many wounds in her years here. But it was the perfect opportunity to ask this Professor Dumbledore if I could enroll. The news that I could leave tomorrow was quite uplifting, also.

Coincidentally, he walked in right when I was thinking about how being in the school would feel like, with his baby blue robes on, and a long silver beard encasing his face. "How are you, Nico?" Forgetting that I was supposed to seem as innocent as possible to get enrolled, I narrowed my eyes.

"How do you know my name, Professor Dumbledore..." I said cautiously. He didn't seem like a hazard, but he might've been one.

"Same as how you figured out mine," he said with a twinkle of amusement going across his eyes. I understood his message, to each person their own sources. He looked like a bit of a joke, but he was definitely wise, and probably had been headmaster for a long time.

"Oh...I...Ummm...Can I join this school?" I started out the question slowly, speeding up at the last part make it seem like I was nervous about asking him this. This was one of the many techniques to manipulating people, even if it didn't seem like one you would think of off the top of your head. To be quite honest, I didn't really have to try that hard, because Dumbledore seemed like the type of person who accepted any kind of person into their school with open arms, no matter how abnormal they were. And that was exactly what I was, an abnormal child.

"I'd be pleasured to enroll you, but Hogwarts is soon going to face a great danger. Are you up to it?" I nodded, curious about what dangers this school had to offer. It couldn't have been much worse than what demigods had to deal with, especially due to the fact that wizards were descended from us, and probably had less to worry about.

"And you are sure your old school won't mind?" He continued on. I thought about lying to him, and saying that I'd already contacted them, but considering that I woke up very recently, I had a feeling he wouldn't accept that answer.

"Most of the people there think that I shouldn't even be allowed in the school, because they think of me as 'dangerous'. Probably because of my parents, whom I don't like to talk about, and the certain..." I paused, willing a few shadows to swarm around my hand, "Powers I was born with..." I had to take the risk of exposing my powers now, because I would most likely have to use them later.

A look of doubt flickered over Dumbledore's eyes, but that was quickly replaced by a smile. "Well then, welcome to Hogwarts. I don't suppose you have any of our wizard currency, or books for our school's curriculum, so I'll provide that to you. Meanwhile..." A flash of red flames appeared next to his eyes, as a Phoenix appeared. I wasn't a big fan of the things, because it kind of contradicted what I stood for, being a widely known symbol of life. It held a wrinkled hat in its beak, but I had a feeling it held more promise than it let on. "Perfect, Fawkes, thank you for the sorting hat...Yes, meanwhile we'll get you sorted."

In one motion, he set the hat on my head, and I heard a voice speak, "A son of Hades, hmm? First one I've seen in decades..." I almost fell out of the bed, because the hat just spoke. I quickly recollected my calm, as hats were a popular item to enchant. One I could think of off the top of my head was Annabeth's,which allowed her to be invisible.

Unfortunately, that was my error, because soon the hat could see my memories. "Slytherin is a possibility...But, oh...What's this?" I froze up. In my mind was a flash of me and Jason facing Eros. "Much, much courage...Oh, and surviving the depths of that...pit" I could feel the hat shudder on top of my head. It had probably seen a collection of so many horrible memories of other students since it's creation, because there was no way a mind-reading hat alone could go through those memories, without years of preparation.

"Hmmm...Definitely. Definitely Gryffindor..." the hat said this line out loud. A sense of dread filled my stomach as I thought about all the memories I had to go through. Dumbledore must've noticed the silence, because he looked at me curiously, before speaking.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore...I think my wand broke after the fall." Nico looked down, faking disappointment.

"Now since sorting is already settled, hold on to the tail feathers of dear Fawkes, we can get you a new one." I did as he told, and a burst of heat flew through my fingers. It felt kind of refreshing, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of a bustling street filled with people wearing robes.

"Come on now, we've got to stop by Ollivander's to pick up your wand." Professor Dumbledore said. We walked into a small little building with a single chair, and many shelves stacked with long and slender boxes.

A man with grey hair that made him seem look like Albert Einstein spoke, "Ah, I see! Haven't had one of your kind in my shop for four years!" I had no idea how he knew about demigods, but I suspected that perhaps he himself was one. "Oh yes, magic is my clue as to who it is." Of course, he must've been Ollivander, the wandmaker of the shop. If I was correct, he was a son of Hecate.

"Well, shall we get started? Let's see..." Wands started to rearrange themselves in front of him. He plucked one up, "This might work...Branch of a mangrove, imported from Florida. 11 inches, unicorn hair." He placed it in my hand. I didn't really have a good feeling about this wand. "Well, give it a wave!" I swished it around, but the room started to fog up, drenching me from head to toe.

Ollivander quickly snatched the wand up, offering me another wand to try. Flashing, banging, exploding, shattering, cracking, anything that could've happened did happen. "Here we go...Branch of pine, 13", eagle feather for a core..." I made a small flicking motion, and a storm cloud formed, and thunder started clapping. I dropped it, and the mini-storm faded away.

"Hmm...If those two wands gave that kind of pronounced effect...Ah! A child of one of those three? Well, there's only one left!" He pulled a midnight black box, opening it. In it was an ebony colored wand. Ollivander finished what he was saying earlier, "Branch of a black poplar tree that had fallen out of a very suspicious dementor's cloak...A Phoenix feather as a core, 9"...Quite an interesting combination..." Ollivander's eyes shown with pride, and I could tell a bit of danger had been involved in the making of it. Especially since he managed to combine two things that represented life and death.

I held it in my hand. Two lines were bulging out on it, starting out connected at the bottom, each line spiraling upwards separately. It looked a lot like how George and Martha were entwined around Hermes' caduceus. Shadows started to swarm around me, and I grinned. It was perfect.

"Well, I believe the wand has chosen its owner, after many years untouched." Ollivander had a light in his eyes that made him look a tad bit more like a madman. You better head back to Hogwarts, it's quite late..."

Dumbledore and me reached our hands up towards Fawkes, finding ourselves back at the infirmary. Apparently I was released from the infirmary now. I swung my backpack over my shoulder, following Professor Dumbledore to the Gryffindor boy's dorms, collapsing on the nearest empty bed, after I carefully placed down my backpack.

My eyes closed, and for some reason, I dreamed of the seven, including Leo who was calmly sipping coffee. Never would happen, knowing him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally forgot that I still had to post chapters on AO3. A+ job on my part. If you want to skip past all the waiting for chapters, there's always the Fanfiction and Wattpad links...Just sayin'.


	5. Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, long chapter. The longest so far, to be specific.

**HARRY POV**

I was angry at Seamus for believing the lies that the Daily Prophet fed him. I mean, how could I not...He's know me for 4 years, for crying out loud!

My thoughts were interrupted by Hermione, "They are the limit," she said grimly, "We've got to tell them to take it down..."

Ron whispered, "Why?"

"You and me are both prefects...Fred and George can't just test such dangerous things on students like that!"

"He's talking about me joining Hogwarts." Nico appeared behind us, and shudders creeped up my back, as I saw his glum face, which seemed to always be like that. He quickly went in front of us, and turned around so we could talk face to face. "I wanted to be enrolled, and Dumbledore accepted. Simple as that. So, what's got you down Harry?" I couldn't help but think how natural he looked in the completely black robes. He was walking backwards, and seemed to be extremely aware of his surroundings.

"Seamus believes that Daily Prophet rubbish about me and Dumbledore lying about Voldemort returning...I don't suppose you even know what I'm talking about, though..."

Nico's reply kind of shocked me, "Oh, I do know. And I believe 100%." He looked forward, away from us, and sprinted down the stairs.

That was seriously odd, since he was from America, and probably didn't know of the whole ordeal in England. "I really don't trust that guy," Ron said, narrowing his eyes, "I mean falling through the roof of the Hogwarts Express is too much of a coincidence..."

"Don't you remember what Professor Dumbledore end-of-the-term feast last year, though?" Hermione said. At this point, me and Ron were confused as to how she could remember things from that long ago. As well as how any of his speech last year applied to Nico.

Hermione sighed, after seeing our looks of puzzlement, "About You-Know-Who. He said, 'His gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust'"

"I still do not get your recipe for being able to remember such trivial things..." Ron replied to her, "And how are we supposed to trust...Him? He's creepy, and suspicious..."

"Because, Ron, I listen, something you never seem to do!" Hermione said with an exasperated face, ignoring his last comment.

↭↭↭

Ron was just grabbing for a piece of toast, when a voice spoke next to me. "Hello..." Nico mumbled. He was staring at his food as if it brought memories, both good and bad.

"Bloody hell, Nico! How do you always seem to appear from thin air!" Ron leaped up in his seat.

"That is a secret..." Nico continued to mumble, poking his toast. Obviously he wasn't hungry. I hoped he couldn't apparate, especially because Hermione would just lecture us on how you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts, if we asked her.

"Who do you think the new Keeper'll be?" Ron asked us.

"Well, they are holding tryouts for Wood's old position...Could be anybody, but I hope they can replace him, or else it'll definitely make a difference." I said. I really hoped that we got a good Keeper, because Wood had done his job well.

With a whoosh, and a clatter, hundred of owls poured through the upper windows. Of course, with the exception of a midnight black raven, which was quite odd. I sighed, knowing Sirius wouldn't send me anything in a time span of 24 hours.

Paying attention to Nico, I saw him tug away a letter from the carrier of his note. But at that moment, I was confused. The bird who carried the note was a raven.

"I thought only owls, mice, or cats were allowed pets?" Ron questioned Nico and his raven.

"This here is Corvus," Nico started, eyes darting across the words on the letter, which seemed a lot like they were written in a different language, rather than English, "Due to certain circumstances, owls tend to stay away from me...". He muttered something very softly, so I couldn't hear him, but Hermione shot him a look. What had she heard?

By that time, Professor McGonagall started to hand out schedules. "Look at today!", Ron groaned, "History of Magic, Double Potions, Divination, and Double Defense against Dark Arts! Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted..."

Nico squinted at his schedule, "I've got the same thing, I think? Are those teachers really bad?" I wondered why he couldn't read his schedule with ease.

George popped up behind us, "Only the worst of the worst, kid...Except Umbridge, who knows what to expect from her?"

"You've got a lot to learn about how things run here..." Fred says, apparently having walked in the Great Hall with George. He scanned over Ron's schedule before saying something, "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap, if you like."

What surprised me next was what Nico said, which was quite clever, "Well obviously, there's a catch, if I'm right about you two being Ron's brothers...," he was still scrutinizing the note for more information, with a slightly aggravated look on his face. "Why's it cheap?", he finished, looking up at the twins.

Fred was obviously thinking about what to tell him, "We could make a trickster out of you...You might just have the skills..."

"It's because you'll bleed until your insides shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet!" George said in an oddly cheery voice. Apparently they were more peeved off about Ron becoming a prefect then they let on.

"I'll never become like those damn Stolls..." Nico said, whispering to himself at the end, "Maybe Bianca would still be with me if they had poisoned her shirt..." This time, both me and Hermione looked at him curiously, almost in sync.

Hermione averted her attention back towards Fred and George, "Speaking of those Skiving Snackboxes, you can't test such dangerous things on first years..."

"Says who?" The Weasley twins said together.

"Says me." Hermione glared at the two of them.

Fred started to say something in a singsong voice, "Oh, you'll be  _begging_  for some by the end of the year. Especially with O. coming up!"

**NICO POV**

I was pretty steamed when I read in my father's letter that Voldemort, one of the current issues in the wizarding world, cheated death several times. Especially when I learned about him splitting his soul into many fragments. Death was a natural process that happened to everyone, and to want to evade was not something to be taken lightly. Especially when you managed to pull it off.

I would deal with him during his stay at Hogwarts, but for now, I had to concentrate on the main focus of my job, as much as I had hated to leave it alone. But with the addition of having to deal with Voldemort, not only collecting information, the risk in this mission just quadrupled. Not that I couldn't handle it.

I walked to my first class, History of Magic. I thought that this class might' been interesting, considering that the teacher, Professor Binns, was apparently a ghost. Of course, History was never too fun, especially when you were one of the people making history. Something I've had to go through far too many times for your average mortal. Not that I was one.

Stepping into the class, I saw the rumors were actually true. I quickly glared at Binns, to warn him that I was incognito.

I had seen the ghost gulp, as he sat down in a chair. "Today, we are learning about the Giant Wars..." I froze up, slowly raising my hands, "Yes...Nico?" He phrased the last word awkwardly, because in normal circumstances, he would call me "Lord".

I asked my question, "Present or Wizard?" That definitely got some curious looks, because they'd probably only ever heard of one. Especially when I said there was one currently a war going on. A question being asked didn't seem like a common event, because Ron was gawking at me.

"Wizard, my lo-lovely inquisitive student!" That definitely got some looks, probably because Binns was a teacher that never put emotion in their words. I was extremely grateful for his cover up, because he was just about to call me his lord.

"What?" I hissed at everyone who was looking at me. Everyone shifted in their seats, with a little bit more interest in the topic. 10 minutes later, Harry and Ron were playing hangman, and everyone was idly chatting. Hermione stopped scribbling down notes to scold Haryy and Ron, and I could see by their faces that they had been threatened.

I was trying extremely hard to listen to Binns, writing down my notes in Ancient Greek. I turned around to see a boy with blond hair staring at me, and I sent him a glare. It must've seemed oddly suspicious to see a whole different language for notes, but I had to do it, since my brain was hardwired like that. Especially since I had to figure out all I could about wizards.

I sighed gratefully as the class ended, walking over to the next class, Potions with Professor Snape. I had a feeling it wasn't the best class, because as I entered the classroom, Professor Snape looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if knowing that I didn't actually belong here.

"Settle down." The teacher shut the door behind him, as he saw everyone was present. He proceeded to talk about O. , and I zoned out, since I was most likely not coming next year. I saw him glare at a few people, such as Neville and Harry, before he settled on me. "Mr. di Angelo. Care to explain why you are not listening?"

"No reason, sir. I don't have much reason to listen to a teacher who seems awfully biased." I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow at Snape, as if questioning if he deserved his position as teacher of the Potions class.

He ignored my comment, continuing to speak, "Today, we will be mixing up a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients, you will put the drinker into a deep and possibly irreversible sleep, so you must pay close attention to what you are doing. The ingredients and method are on the blackboard. You will find everything you need in the store cupboard, you have an hour and a half...Start." Instructions scribbled themselves onto the board, and the cabinet, which supposedly held ingredients, swung open.

I squinted at the board, taking carefulness to decipher the ingredients properly. It was probably because of my dyslexia that I had to concentrate so much, but that probably put me in a better position than others.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Snake raised his voice, "A light silver vapor should now be rising out of your potion." Before he looked at what he had, he took a moment to look around at the other failures, and all he could think was that they were far off from the ideal potion. Snape walked around, paying no attention to Hermione's seemingly perfect potion, and instead stopping at Harry's cauldron, which was emitting a dark grey steam. "Potter, can you read?" Snape and Harry had an argument, ending with Harry blushing slightly in shame. Finally, the Potions teacher turned to me.

"I'd feel very sorry for whoever had to drink that..." Snape glared at me. Sure, mine's gave off a mist that was slightly thicker than it should have been, but other than that, it would probably just give that person a sleep that was an hour longer than it should've been.

I pointed my hand in the direction of the blond boy in the train, "I don't suppose you have stopped and looked at the potions of the people from your house?" The boy I had pointed to, currently had a mushroom cloud of thick, orange fog.

"10 points from Gryffindor...For questioning my methods as a teacher...To everyone who was successful, put a bit of your potion in a flagon, and bring it up to the front for testing, after clearly marking it with your name. Your homework is to have 12 inches of parchment on the properties of the moonstone, and it's uses in potions, due on Thursday. You are now dismissed."

I walked out, grumbling at how stupid Professor Snape was. I walked around randomly, not wanting to go to lunch, seeing as I didn't have much of an appetite. Rather, I never did. I was hoping a place to practice fighting would magically appear, while pacing around. And with my luck, one actually did. I slowly cracked open the big wooden door standing in front of me, to find a bunch of straw dummies hanging in the air. It was just like the Sword Fighting Arena back at Camp Half-Blood.

I twisted the skull ring, which was placed on one of my fingers, to be found holding my three for long blade made of Stygian Iron. I groaned thinking about what an idiot I was. I would need a moving partner to practice with. So I stabbed the ground, willing a skeleton to come forth. Beckoning it forward, I stood in a position in which my right foot was in front, and my sword hand was pointing upward. I bent my knees a little, my left hand shielding its respective side, if I ever needed to end up blocking an attack.

My opponent, a sickly skeleton with dark gray flesh, held a sword with a blade of sharpened bone, and a hilt of leather, which was adorned with small gems. I lunged forward coming up behind it, as it slowly turned around as a response to my actions. When the skeleton finally faced me, I thrusted my sword into its sternum, effectively causing it to crumble to dust.

My training session ended when a bell rang. I was panting, not because of the fighting, but rather from all the summoning of skeletons I had to do. I quickly reverted my sword into it's original state as a ring, placing it on my finger. I slammed open the door, bolting to my next class.

A big thud resounded in the room, as I stood there, in the center of attention. If I was right, I was in the a situation where I was the last to arrive. I glared at everyone who stared, before turning towards Professor Trelawney. She had large lenses, which greatly magnified her eyes. She was looking me with an expression of curiosity, as well as apprehension, an interesting combination. "Oh dear, lots of death in your life to come." Harry looked relieved for some reason.

I sat down on a cushion, before facing the Divination teacher. "I am quite aware of this. Death is something that comes in any person's life, regardless if someone likes it or not. Accepting, and understanding death is an occurrence that happens to a select few, however...And that is something I have already done. To simply state such a thing would be like saying that you are the teacher of Divination. And on that note, shall we start the lesson?" Ron was clearly trying to decipher my words, because he scrunched up his face n confusion.

The lesson was simple, try to figure out what your dreams meant. I partnered up with Neville. I thought it was clearly a useless lesson, as demigod dreams often meant what they said. "In my dream, six of my...I guess, companions, were meeting up with my usually hyper friend, who was sipping coffee. Casually, which he never does, if I may add."

Neville flipped through his book, scanning his pages, before finally coming up with something. "You will meet these people again soon, expect they will have changed, some a little, some a lot." I quickly dismissed him, before continuing to figure out his dreams.

Soon, the class was over, and I walked out, to see Ron complaining to Harry. Professor Umbridge was teaching the next class, Defense Against Dark Arts. She was a Ministry of Magic official, which must've been the wizarding community's government, and new this year, so no one knew what to expect from her.

On the way to the class, I thought about if Neville's prediction could've been true. I thought back to when I was 10, and had nightmares about Bianca on her first and last quest, only to later discover the truth behind them. A grim expression was cast across my face, as I thought about my dead sister.

The boy from History of Magic, who had seen my notes, looked at me, before quickly turning back to stare in front of him. He sneaked a glance back at me when he thought I wasn't watching, as if I was a puzzle to solve. I would have to keep an eye on him. Any thoughts of the boy quickly vanished as I entered the classroom.

I almost gagged at the first sight of Professor Umbridge. She was a pink little fluffball, and I I immediately came to hate her. She was starting her class, saying "Wands aaa way, and quills out!" Everyone averted their attention to Nico. Again.

"Tut, tut...That'll be 15 points from Gryffindor for lack of punctuality, Mr. di Angelo." I sighed, plopping myself onto a seat, and taking out my quill.

I started to think about if the whole school year would really be this boring. I mean, sure, some of the stuff was interesting, but the school was simply old-fashioned, still using quills. I had no right to think that, though, considering what decade I was actually from.

The scene that followed, however was quite fascinating. "Hmmm...Let's think...Maybe, I don't know...Lord Voldemort?" There was quite a reaction, and Professor Umbridge deducted 10 points from us.

"Let me make a few things quite plain...You have been told a certain dark wizard has return from the dead..." She quickly got interrupted by a livid Harry.

"He wasn't dead, but yeah, he's returned!" Harry said furiously.

" _Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-ten-points-for-your-house-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself_." Umbridge said, in a string of words. She hadn't took a single breath, and that skill was normally something only Leo or Annabeth possessed, and that was when they were excited. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie. And there will be no practical lessons, period."

I smirked, preparing my next words carefully, raising my hand. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo?" She was far too formal for my liking.

"With all due respect, ma'am, they are quite correct. I was reading up on Ministry laws in the morning, being new to this region. One of those laws states that all schools must have at least ten practical lessons per subject in the school year, of course, with the exception of purely theoretical classes, like History of Magic."

She narrowed her eyes, at him, "Very well...That will be later on...Mr. Potter, take this note over to Professor McGonagall.

I shrugged, mouthing to Harry, "Couldn't prevent it...Sorry." He nodded, then walking out, but I couldn't tell if it was meant towards the teacher, or me.

The day ended, without any further events. Maybe Hogwarts had a little more to it then meets the eye.


	6. Suspicions

**NICO POV**

I yawned in my bed, changing my position. The first week at Hogwarts had been quite interesting, after I got through the treacherous pile of classes on Monday. But there was a boy who always seemed to see what I was doing in the odd moments that set me apart from everyone else. And it happened to be the boy I glared at on the way to DADA on Monday.

Unfortunately, when I moved in the bed, I also slipped off the bed because of the silky blanket underneath me. I opened my eyes, since it was around the time I woke up, 6:30. A whole hour before breakfast to figure who it was that stood in front of me. And of course, it was the horribly snoopy boy.

I got up, dusting off my pants, as I stared him in the eye. Walking out of the dorm, I beckoned him towards me. I could hear him step after me, on his toes. It was clear that he shouldn't have been here.

I turned around, crossing my arms. I could finally see him properly, so I took the moment to inspect him. The insides of his robes were lined with blue, which meant he was a Ravenclaw, and I couldn't help but wonder how he got into the dorm. The frame of his body looked overall scrawny, and a bit under average when it came to height. He had a crop of dirty blonde hair, that hung until about past his ears. Stormy grey eyes stared into my dark black ones as I glared at him. He simply held out his hand, "I'm Cody, Ravenclaw house."

It was a rather abrupt gesture, but I reached out to shake it, so that I didn't come off as rude. He however, pulled it away before I could complete the action, with a mischievous smirk trained on his lips. "Tsk, tsk. Not until you tell me a few things. One, Nico, why were you taking down notes in History of Magic. In Ancient Greek." Damn. Cody could recognize it, and I started mentally swearing.

"Umm, I'm of a Greek and Italian origin, so I was taught the two languages at the same time I learned English. It's easiest for me to read because of my dyslexia." I effectively evaded the question, but I had my own. "My turn, how did you recognize the language?"

Cody frowned, obviously confused for some reason, "I think I've been able to read and speak since I was 3, but since I'm from Greece, that was the language I learned." Then a thought came to mind, what if he was a demigod? "I think we should just continue flip flopping until most of our questions are answered. Me," he pointed to himself, "and you," he pointed to me, "are going to be friends. Seriously, you're the only interesting person around, other than Layla. Who might just want to prank people with me. "Okay, where are you from, because you are obviously not from around here."

I thought for a moment. He just said he wanted to be friends with me. For some reason, the idea of pranking with him, rather than being taught "the ways" by Ron's twin brothers sounded tempting. "Long Island, New York, in America. Clarion House of Battle. I accept your offer of friendship, though I'm new to it. Again, my turn. Do you have any disabilities? Like my dyslexia?"

"Only, ze best, of ze best," he said in a fake Italian voice, obviously mocking me, "ADHD and dyslexia, as well." He was like a mini Leo. Except not too ADHD. "It is my turn again." he rubbed his fake beard, in contemplation, "If you had to choose between a clown suit, or an Umbridge outfit, to wear for a day, what would it be? Because I might just have to use that as a dare..."

He obviously saw the look of panic on my face, because I was never going to stray from my usual black, "Umbridge outfit...At least I won't look too, too weird. Okay, how...Did you get into the Gryffindor dorms?"

"Simple. There is a pattern as to how the Fat Lady chooses her passwords. Using some random schmandom formula no one cares about, I figured this years theme was Life and Death. It changes each week. Last week's was Mimbulus Mimbletonia, this weeks is something like Thanatos. If you don't know who he is, Greek personification of Death." I raised my eyebrow, confused by the odd spurt of knowledge from the seemingly mischievous boy.

"Oh, I know all too well. Let's say I've knocked on Death's Door a few times..." I chuckled, thinking about how true this was. He was quite fun to have tea with, until he got chained up in Alaska. Now he was thought every movement was dodgy. "We should, eh. Get ready. People are probably waking up. Now shoo breakfast is at 7:30..." I quickly got up, heading back towards my bed.

**CODY POV**

Nico was definitely a puzzle that just got 5 times bigger.

The part about him knowing Ancient Greek was a bit odd, but it was one of his questions that stumped me. Why had I been able to understand? Quite honestly, I was born in England, and I had been able to read and speak when I was 3, but that was all English.

He also acted as if he had seen death often. Why I asked him to be my friend, no idea, but he was certainly a bit more suspicious than he let on. I would definitely consult Layla later, so she could cook up one of her great strategies to uncover Nico's secrets. I had a feeling it would involve exposing his fears somehow. I still hadn't told her about my mission yet. Part of it was because he talked to Harry Potter quite often, and Layla thought Harry was an attention-seeking liar. I personally couldn't help but wonder if he told the truth.

Layla and me were like water and fire. While I was the one who liked to prank people, though they were often small pranks, Layla always sat on the sidelines, making full out strategies and going so far as to even make a flowchart if something failed. While she had extreme pranking potential, she refused to take part in the action. I always thought about how our roles would be maximized if she was the "doer", and I was the "strategist". I had more smarts than her, though it was mostly when dealing with systematic things, or patterns. But being able to understand patterns definitely helped, so you knew who goes where when.

But Nico definitely was high on the priority list of "Things to figure out".

**HARRY POV**

Hermione had said that Nico was definitely not normal, and hiding something. I agreed, because everything about him had been odd.

When Nico introduced his bird, Corvus, Hermione happened to hear what he said under his breath, "Or any living thing, for that matter..." What was it about him that separated him from organic life forms? He seemed to always be the one poisoned by plants in Herbology, as if they had a childhood grudge on him.

He seemed to keep appearing out of nowhere all the time. Ron sweared that if it happened one more time, he'd keep a dagger in his shoes just to threaten him to stop that. Which brought up another topic. I saw him one night pull a dagger out of his boot, shining it with the sleeves of his robes. I was a hundred percent sure that wasn't allowed, but I didn't want to risk turning him in, as he might've somehow threatened me.

I could've sworn Binns was about to call him "My lord", as if he had a connection to the dead, and not only that he said that there was a present giant war when he asked his question.

He came late to Divination class, panting, and sweating profusely, so who knows what he had been doing.

I could've listed a dozen more things, but the main point is that me, Ron, and Hermione soon started to stop talking to him, because he was utterly suspicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw yeah. OCs. I think there are like three total in the whole stories, no biggie.


	7. Faint

**JASON POV**

I leaned back on the edge of the Argo II, my hands stuffed in my pockets. The sky had started to tinge pink as the sun neared the horizon.

We had just departed from Malta, with some person who looked and sounded like Leo, but didn't really act like him. In other words, Leo had changed when he reunited with us. More calm, and sorrowful about something. He was slowly coming back to his sense, but...What really had me troubled was Nico.

See, Leo wasn't the only one who got booted off the ship. Nico had too, though we couldn't remember, why. So he could be in Ireland for all we know, lost from us. Something confused me though, and that was why he couldn't shadow-travel back to us. It was a slightly freaky power, but he seriously could just do that. And so I was assuming that Nico had been kidnapped. Yet again.

Really frustrating how he kept disappearing, it was like the Fates were screwing with us.

"Hmmm...Sparky feeling a bit down? Confess to your crimes..." The all to familiar combustible mechanic of the Argo II walked in with a grin.

"Gods, how can you be so cheerful when an essential part of our quest is still missing?" I sighed.

Leo shook his head, "Pfft. This is Jar Dude we're talking about...He'll be all like 'BAM!', skeleton...'BAM!", skeleton. Quit worrying."

I thought about it for a while, "You have a valid point...But I can't help thinking, what if that dooms us on our quest?"

Leo chuckled, "Time can only tell," before growing silent and looking at the sunset, with a wistful expression on his face.

**»«-»«**

**CODY POV**

Me and Layla were laughing our hearts out at Pansy Parkinson's newly dyed hair, courtesy of yours truly. Layla had tears in her eyes when she spoke, "Did you see her face? I can't believe the Slytherins didn't bother to tell her why people were looking at her oddly until after breakfast!" She cracked up into another bout of laughter.

"And she just fluttered her eyelashes and waved...I never have seen THAT side of her..." I finished off what she was trying to say before she had started laughing. By the time we stopped laughing, my stomach ached. I mean, you should've seen her face when Binns of all people commented on her hair. That was a seriously rare occasion.

"Sooo...Cody, wanna walk to the lake," she chuckled lightly, her brown eyes glittering in excitement. She thought they were extremely bland and ordinary, but I felt as if they had a hidden depth to them.

I grinned, "To Oz?"

"To Oz." she gave a dramatic nod of her head. We linked arms, skipping down the brick road. Layla tossed back her head laughing. It was a running joke of ours to ask if we were going to Oz whenever deciding to go somewhere together. To be quite honest, I had no idea how it started.

Before long, the deep blue lake stretched out in front of us, blemished with the white from the sun reflecting light off it. I took in a deep breath, savoring the air's purity, as I lay down on the grass.

Whatever gleeful face was plastered on my face quickly chastened.

Sure. It was a dog. Or you could say that. But something was off about it, and its eyes held a hellish fire in them. And the "dog" was about as big as a pickup truck. The only thing that went through my head, was that it was scared as hell.

I poked Layla, slowly, trying not to provoke the creature in any way, shape, or form. "Layla..." I whispered.

"Hmm?" she turned toward me, as the color quickly drained from her face. She was frozen in fright, and shock.

The next sight was definitely what made me think I was bonkers. Shadows started to swirl in front of me, collecting into what started to look like a body. Nico stood in front of me, his eyes hollow. It was as if the animal that stood before us was a part of his world, reigniting pain from within. As if an intricately carved mask had fallen off.

Nico glared at us, obviously in a bad mood, "Back away...Hold on...Here...Take these." He reached at some hidden pocket, obviously trying to find something, before Layla shakily held up two daggers.

"I stole them from you..." she started, her voice wavering, before handing one of them to me, "Here..."

"How did you..." Nico said in bewilderment, "Oh," before saying something that sounded like "Hermes and Athena."

Something set off in me, as a small, but hopefully successful strategy formed in my head. "Layla and I can surround the two sides of the...Thing. Nico, you come up from behind it, and run under its belly, stabbing it in the chest." Nico looked impressed, but he acted as if it was something he saw a lot.

Doubt flickered over his face, before he looked at me with a sense of trust. He disappeared into the shadows of a nearby tree, his body reforming behind the monster. Layla and I quickly took our place on both sides of the abnormally large dog.

It started swiveling its head side to side, snarling in frustration.

Why it chose me, I don't know. Maybe my hair stood out like a beacon? Maybe I looked weaker than Layla, and easier to pick off?

All I did remember was Layla's curly brown hair swishing in front of me as she darted towards me. And shortly blacking out after.

**NICO POV**

Sure, the plan did start a little earlier than intended. But did it matter, if everyone stayed safe? I chuckled at how being away from the demigod side of my life for a week changed how I thought. Now that I think about it, I had been awfully cheerful the past few weeks. I rushed forward from behind the hellhound, which to be quite honest, really shouldn't have been there. And it certainly didn't act friendly towards me like it should've, even though I was a son of a Hades.

I stabbed the beast in its chest, which was laden with curly grey hair. It promptly faded way into golden dust, which had flown away in the wind. The girl glared at me, resting Cody's head on her lap.

His strategic persona had crumbled after he had fainted. But what would you expect, when it was probably the first time you faced a monster, and it attempts to attack you?

"You...Have got got some explaining to do," she hissed at me, "What the hell was that thing?"

I ignored whatever she said, "Quick, let's get him to the infirmary. You're Layla, right?" Remembering how that was what Cody called her when he told us his strategy. She still glared at me, as if I had called that hellhound upon us. The girl still helped me carry Cody. For a boy with a rather small build, he sure weighed a lot.

"Yes, Layla is the name. And don't think you're all that. Just 'cause Cody trusts you does not mean that I do too," she responded, looking forward with a steely glare. I wasn't sure what got her so pissed off, but I knew we wouldn't be friends any time soon. "You still haven't answered my question. What. Was. That?" she continued on, and any hope of her not knowing the truth was lost.

I gritted my teeth, but asked her one question, "Some things are meant to stay secret..." I said, remembering when I tried to learn about my past back when I was 12, "But first, answer me this? Is one of your parents not with you?" I tried to phrase it in as an insensitive question, but I had to find put if she was really a daughter of Hermes.

She still stared at the air in front of her, before replying to my question, "My dad left my mom after discovering she was a witch, near the time I was born. Same applies to Cody, except with his mom."

Demigods were probably uncommon in the wizarding world, because the gods had sworn to not interfere with Hecate's world. And due to that, both Cody and Layla's godly parents, who I strongly suspected were Hermes and Athena, hadn't realized the mortal they had an affair with was a witch or wizard. It was an interesting topic that I actually might've wanted to discuss with someone. Especially since Athena, if I was right about her being Cody's godly parent, did not manage to realize this until the "deed" was done. Somewhere, far off in the distance, thunder clapped.

I pondered over the pros and cons of telling Layla the truth, but I decided I owed her an explanation, no matter how untrusting she was. It was normally the response I got anyway. "Do you know about the Greek Gods?" At this moment, I was hoping she wouldn't give what I came to call the Disney movie response, but I highly suspected she wouldn't since we were somewhere in Scotland.

Of course, my luck never really held because Layla soon had said, "Like, uh...Zeus and Poseidon? In that Hercules movie?" Way to forget the third god of the Big Three. She looked clearly befuddled, either because she was confused as to why I was bringing it up, or she was trying to remember anything she could about Greek "mythology".

I'd come to despise Disney movies ever since I had discovered my father was Hades. They were all, "Oh, Hades is god of the Underworld? Let's make him have flaming blue hair or something! An evil look!" But they did kind of help explain.

"So these gods exist, and they move to wherever the Western Civilization is most prevalent. These gods, sometimes have affairs with mortals, and give birth to demigods like me. And most likely you and Cody." I stopped there, wondering if she would accept it, or just reject the whole idea of it like Bianca had done at first.

Clearly, it was the latter. Layla scoffed, "You expect me to believe such stupid muggle baloney...They believe in such trivial things like gods, yet would run away from their family when discovering wizards exist." She definitely did not forgive her dad for anything, not one little bit. I thought it was completely understandable. "Okay, tell me this, Nico. Who is your godly parent? And you better give proof or I swear I will punch you in unspoken places for...This." She waved her hands, motioning towards the fainted Cody.

I really did not want to tell her. "Um. I'd rather not say for certain. Reasons." She held up my knife, but I ignored her threats, seeing as I could easily defend myself.

"See? It's a bunch of rubbish. Purely muggle beliefs, and nothing else." I clenched my fists, knowing I'd have no choice but to tell her.

"Hades, god of the Underworld! There? Are you happy now, because I sure am not, having to deal with a nuisance like you!" I burst out at her, as shadows started to wrap around me into a thin layer of darkness, "That thing there? That was a hellhound. I know a tame one, but I can't control the things just because I'm a son of Hades!"

I had let out my rage. Was this what Percy, Thalia, and Grover had felt when they had to deal with Bianca at Westover Hall? And me, I grimaced as I thought about how annoying I must've been. Now that I was a bit calmer, my words were more controlled as I finished speaking, "Your father, who you oh-so much hate, was not permitted to interact with his children, much like the rest of the gods. But, hey. You don't have it so bad, because I have to live a life where I am neglected by everyone I've ever known, that is still alive."

Layla was silent, before she said anything, and all she said was, "Let's not tell Cody about this. Let's be on a truce.  _For him._  Deal?"

"Deal." I said, in a flat tone.

**»«-»«**

**Layla was supposed to be a side antagonist. Who knows. Maybe she still is ;)**


	8. Float

**LAYLA POV**  
I tipped my chair backward, staring at the infirmary's smooth white ceiling. There was nothing to do, now that Cody had passed out. It was moments like these I wished my fellow prankster was not a huge chicken, and didn't back out of fights once he thought they were impossible.

I mean, his attack plan was pretty darn good, at least for my standards. He just couldn't carry through with it.

I glanced up at the clock. Visiting hours were over, and I had to head back to the Hufflepuff common room.

I never understood why I had been sorted into Hufflepuff. Honestly, I thought they were all just a bunch of people who settled for average and nothing more. We weren't significant like Slytherin, or Gryffindor, and our closest thing to achievement in the past decade was when Cedric Diggory had been selected as champion for the Triwizard Tournament. And we all know what happened. Cedric was the only reason I had even remotely believed Harry and Dumbledore's story about Voldemort returning.

That wasn't the biggest of my problems at the moment, though. In fact a rather large one currently involved a certain Gryffindor who I had developed quite the grudge on. Sure, my opinion on him was biased, because he accepted Cody's offer of friendship after knowing him for 10 minutes. He probably, no, most definitely had bad intentions, and wasn't somebody I was going to trust any time soon. He also weaved the story about the Greeks, but as far as I was concerned, it was his fault that the Hellhound had come, putting me in my current predicament.

His story was quite believable, for sure. My dad was missing, and my mom always acted as if there was another reason he left, other than her being a wizard. I grimaced, thinking about how it felt to have a parent who was who knows where. He also brought shadows towards him, after claiming he was a son of Hades. But it could very well be dark magic learnt from his old school. If school rumors were correct, Professor Binns had a curious reaction to him, and Professor Trelawney predicted his demise, and he completely agreed with it.

Whatever was true, I would just have to wait and see what happened in the future. It would definitely be an interesting year.

I tapped the barrels allowing access to the Hufflepuff common room, in the appropriate rhythm, stepping into it.

* * *

**HERMIONE POV**

Ron snapped at me, "You thought I was bound to be rubbish?"

I wasn't sure what was up with him, but he certainly wasn't being friendly, or planning on doing that anytime soon. What had I done anyway? And wasn't he saying how the Quidditch practice was for him just a few seconds ago?

"No!" I exclaimed, "Of course I didn't! Look, you just said it was lousy, so I just -"

Ron clearly didn't want to hear what I had to say, as he cut me off, "I'm going to get started on some homework." He grumbled to himself, settling down onto a chair, and placing down his books.

The only good thing that had come out of this situation so far was that Ron was willing to do his homework, even if it was just to stop talking to me. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Was he lousy?" I asked curiously to Harry. He was about to reply to me, when someone spoke before he was able to.

It was Nico, "You offered to tutor me, right? Well...Ummm...", he shuffled on his feet, probably due to the fact that he seemed pretty independent and seldom asked others for help. I shuddered, thinking about how he could seemingly appear without any of us noticing. It was as if he was a ghost, except less...Dead. Actually, take that back, he looked as dead as them.

By now, I started to regret my decision to tutor him, especially since it was 5th year, and I might not be up it, due to all the time it consumed. But more than that, the fact that he was creepy.

I sighed, knowing I had to hold to my promise, "Sure, I do hold to my word..."

Ron scoffed in the background, "At least that's most of the time..." Nico stared at Ron, apparently curious as to why Ron had made that comment. Realization showed in his eyes, and he shook his head in slight amusement, as if he'd had friends who had often had squabbles.

I ignored what Ron had said, as I spoke, "Let's work on the essay about the Inanimatus Conjurus spell. You should be able to handle the essay on Jupiter's moons by yourself if you look in your Astronomy book.

Nico nodded, in agreement. Confusion struck across his face very suddenly, "What is that?"

I sighed in exasperation, "Boys...Seriously, it's quite a simple concept, one you should've learned a while ago...You should at least know what it does."

Ron smirked as he turned towards me, "Not everyone has your brains, dearest 'Mione. No need to rub it in." I ignored his comment, motioning towards two chairs, near where Harry stood, for us to sit on.

* * *

**NICO POV**

Night had fallen, a few hours after our encounter with the Hellhound. I wasn't seriously concerned with Layla and Cody, at the moment, because they couldn't do much. Though, I was slightly concerned about Cody not knowing the truth, as he would inevitably learn it later. The only problem with telling him, was that Layla now had valuable blackmail information, even if it involved her. Not that anyone would believe her story about the Greek gods.

"I won't be helping you directly, but I'll give you a few nudges in the right direction for the essay." As the words left Hermione's mouth, I groaned in my head. Wasn't the whole point of tutoring to help the person directly? What use would it be if it was done any other way.

"Okay," I mumbled. Hermione shook her head at me, reproachfully. Now that I thought about it, she would be a fairly good candidate for the Hunters of Artemis, but she didn't have the kind of heart to hate boys for all of eternity.

Hermione stared straight at me, and I realized I let my mind wander. "Okay Nico, let's start with the wand motion." She turned my palm upward, "Okay, first step is to hold your hand like that, and bring it up." Hermione demonstrated the motion with her own wand, waiting for me to repeat.

"All right, now bring it down with a bit of a diagonal angle, but make your hand face down in this step. And that's it." She finished off the motion with her wand, again pausing to see me do it.

Hermione sighed in exasperation, "No...Slash it down as if you were using a..." She scrunched up her face, trying to think of a way to describe it, "A sword. That's it. You're raising a shield and bring down a sword!" Hermione had a look of contentment on her face, as she saw me perform the hand motion properly. She nodded in approval.

"Is that all? This seems like a lot of work..." I spoke up, instantly regretting that I said my thoughts out loud. Hermione sent me a glare. Yup, definitely Hunters of Artemis.  
"The words, Nico. The words!" Of course. We weren't done just yet. "Say Inanimatus Conjurus for me?" I frowned, thinking it couldn't be that simple. I said it anyway.

"Purely. And utterly. Frustrating," Hermione said, "Say 'anima' so that it is more prominent than the rest of the incantation. And the 'jur' part should be spoken as if you were saying jewel. Try again."

I gave her a glare of my own, but she held her ground, as if education was all that mattered to her. I was getting fed up with her, and could understand why Ron was a bit pissed off at her. Heck, after only 5 minutes, I was. I spoke the words anyway, and she gave a grin, as she motioned towards a quill.

Her message was properly received. I performed the spell, and felt a lump that felt like a pen in my pocket. "Fair enough," Hermione said.

Ron spoke in a singsong voice, "Over-achiever!"

I stared at him, with a steely look in my eyes, "And it is working diligantly, and going above and beyond what you need to do that will save your butt on battlefield. And this is something learned from experience that I'm saying," I spoke nonchalantly. I realized my mistake saying that I had been on battlefield, but by Hermione's face, only she caught the hint.

Hermione ignored my little moment, as she continued to speak, "Inanimatus Conjurus is used to summon inanimate objects into your pocket. It can be inferred that in Greek Mythology that Anaklusmos, a sword used by Hercules that is referred to in very few texts, had been enchanted with this spell. Though it is mythology, it lets us wizards know we have been around since ancient days."

I grimaced at the mention of Percy's sword, and Hermione tilted her head at me curiously. So maybe Hecate's little world affected the godly world in more ways than initially thought. Hermione still continued to talk however, "Any further information about it should be in the Transfiguration book, and you should also be able to do the astronomy essay on your own..."

"Thanks, I'll start working away at that on Sunday." Hermione turned away to study, and I couldn't help but wonder how she could be able to finish homework so soon, and still want to study.

The night had passed without any events, though several hours had passed as I struggled to write properly with dyslexia, as well as the damn quill. Soon it was evening on Sunday. I had heard that Cody had gotten released from some 6th years, who were wondering why he was put into the infirmary.

I started to look through the Astronomy book for references on Jupiter's four Galilean moons. Hermione was sitting a few tables away from me, when she suddenly looked up from the book she was avidly reading, and asked me something, "I've been meaning to ask, by the way. How the heck did you get here from America, and fall through the roof of the train?"

It was now obvious that Harry actually had told Ron and Hermione what had happened, why wouldn't he? I was hoping they would have forgotten about that odd situation already, but she just had to bring it up again. I quickly though up a story, and for once, I actually appreciated Connor's mentoring in the art of lying. "Oh, that...Yeah, a really brutal, but powerful witch in my school, Lou Ellen I believe it was? Yes, her...She thought it would be funny to use a spell, which I haven't been able to identify, to teleport me half way across the world. Turned out that it was in the air above the train."

Hermione didn't look a bit suspicious about that, "Hmm, interesting. Must be a custom spell...It wouldn't have made the mistake of putting you in the air...But that was rather rude."

I continued on, wanting my lie to be completely sound, "Anyway, it was because of her that I'd had enough, so I decided to transfer over here. And yes, it was rude, but hey, always happens to me."

Hermione frowned, before starting to read again.

A few hours had passed, as I tried to finish my work to the best of my ability, when I noticed Harry looking at the fireplace, lost in thought. I looked at it as well, for a brief moment.

I blinked. I had just saw a floating head, even if for the tiniest fraction. I thought I must've been hallucinating, so I walked to bed, my eyes closing as my body hit the fabric of the bed.

Hellish images started to flash across my vision. Not just Underworld hellish, but another kind. A Tartarus hellish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo apparently i'm a dumbass and never actually posted this chapter so all 1k hits prior to today (11/19/17) have never read this chapter. wow. i wonder what that read like. just. suddenly skipping over from the 7th chapter to the 9th.


	9. Invited

**HARRY POV**

I blinked open my eyes, and let out a yawn. I was very exhausted from working so late into the night, but I had to get ready for the OWLs.

But something was off. Shuddering sobs had filled in the silence of the early morning. The source of it was collectively gasping for air, as if a single wrong breath would cause their demise. But when the person started to whisper words of dread, I knew who it was making the noises.

"No...Spare...Death...Never take me down...Don't..." Nico said, as I strained to hear his words. And then he went silent. Irregularly silent, as if he was dead, and in that moment, I couldn't help but worry that he could've died before. But it seemed that he was having a really irregular dream.

I was still looking at him, when out of nowhere, a sword sprang into Nico's hands. A cold sense of dread spread through my body, as I saw the long, black blade suck in shadows. Where had he gotten it from? And why was it in his hand?

Nico fell off the bed, and together, the sword and him were the ultimate shadow structure.

His head quickly snapped up, and his eyes grew wide as he quickly made his sword...Disappear?

He muttered a few words in something that didn't sound English, and I could tell that whatever he said, he hadn't bothered to sensor himself. "Err. Good morning Nico." I chuckled. Just what kind of survival instinct told me to make myself noticeable. But there was no going back. Nico's eyes narrowed at me, and his eyes lost any emotion that they had. Clearly his nightmares meant a lot to him. Couldn't help but wonder about what he had dreamt about.

**»«-»«**

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," Professor Umbridge smiled, though it looked more triumphant than kind, "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection." My head snapped up, much like the rest of the class had already done.

Professor Trelawney looked slightly unnerved, as Professor Umbridge had settled in a seat nearby her, but she started to tell us to do something. "We shall continue our study of prophetic dreams today. Divide into pairs, and interpret each other's latest night-time visions with the aid of the Oracle."

I curiously looked at Nico, who looked as though he had paled, but it could've been a trick of the light. Whatever he had dreamt about had certainly not been able to derail his calm demeanor. He walked over to Neville, and I started to wonder why, not that anything was wrong with Neville. Me and Ron were currently making up a dream for myself, when I looked back at Nico who had seemed to stutter as he told Trelawney his dream. Normally, he was a great liar, I had this burning instinct, but something seemed to be in his way this certain situation.

Umbridge started to inquire the Divination teacher on her qualifications, and a bit of amusement lit up in Nico's eyes as Trelawney said something about her Second Sight skipping three generations. The day passed by with many events, but I could only focus on a few things. One, I had yet another week of detention with Umbridge. Two, Nico was starting to seem highly unusual, and likely untrustable. And three, I was most likely going to be the one to teach a small group of students Defense Against Dark Arts.

**»«-»«**

**NICO POV**

I walked next to Cody as he tried to guess why I was being so moody. But he would never figure it out. He'd probably never had heard of that hell hole, much less experienced the horrors of it. I winced as I thought about how I only got out because of being captured! and started to worry about Percy and Annabeth.

Cody waved at the air in front of me, "Oi, Señor Gloomy Pants. Earth welcomes you." I frantically looked side to side, before finally relaxing. No harm. No danger. Safe.

He continued to talk, but I just zoned out. But a curious little fact flew past my ears. "So anyway, Hermione is inviting a group of people to the Hog's Head to learn Defense Against Dark Arts on our trip to Hogsmeade. Wanna come?" he spoke.

What the Hades was Hogsmeade? Cody looked at me curiously, and I covered my mouth after I realized I spoke out loud. Cody started to answer my question, "I forgot you weren't from around here...It's like a local town older students get to visit every once in a while."

Before I knew it, I had already said yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry 'bout the delay y'all, i was on a trip haha


	10. Caught

**NICO POV**

It was a town that screamed a raw kind of perfect. Warm cottages were lined up next to streets, amongst the shops filled with familiar greetings. Not my type of place, it would have to accumulate a lot more doom and gloom to achieve that. Though there was a building that looked utterly abandoned, and made it seem as if the wizards were bugs, getting repelled by some very effective bug spray.

Cody was talking very animatedly, his hands waving in the air which was currently inundated with snow that really shouldn't have been there at he start of October. I could've sworn he said something about exploding some classroom as a prank. The whole idea of friends had sounded a bit tempting, but now that I was experiencing it, I really didn't get the whole point.

To be honest, I didn't exactly want to go here. But it had a lot more benefits then drawbacks. One, it would probably make me very happy to see Umbridge's face if the "study group" got caught. Two, I could get Cody to shut up a little by satisfying him (He couldn't stop blabbering about his most recent pranks). And three, it would definitely help me figure out what was the whole deal with Harry Potter. Sure, I'd heard the story from Professor Dumbledore, but I felt that Harry had hid a lot from him.

Which brought me to why I was feeling very miserable lately. Reality had started to slap me in the face after I dreamt about Tartarus. I was definitely not a wizard, and would have to leave back to my own world. And for some reason, I felt a lot more accepted here. Plus, my diet no longer consisted of a single grape.

But of course, here I was somewhere in Scotland, when the crew of the Argo II was off gods know where, saving the world. When I could've definitely helped transport the Athena Parthenos to wherever it needed to be. I had a sneaking suspicion that if I hadn't been called off to do this mission at the most handy dandy of times (Thank you dearest father), that I would be shadow traveling across the world with Reyna and Coach Hedge. Of course, it probably wasn't true, but I couldn't help worry by the slightest bit.

I would have to Iris Message them later. When no one could hear me.

By now, me and Cody were at the entrance to the chosen meeting place, The Hog's Head. And I couldn't help but grin at the beat-up wooden sign which portrayed a hog's bloody severed head, next to a few worn out words that I gave up on trying to read. I stepped into the house, to be greeted Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Well not really greeted. Harry exchanged an uncertain glance with Hermione who shrugged. I slid over a Knut to the person behind the bar, whispering under my breath for him to get whatever could be bought for that amount of money. What I got was a drink with a fiery amber color, and without asking what it was, I raised it to my lips. Ron goggled at me, as he directed Hermione's attention to me. She gave me a reproachful glare, before turning towards the door with a welcoming smile.

People started to flow in, and as each person entered, Harry turned a shade paler. I could recognize Fred, George, Ginny, Neville, and finally Luna, whose names I had recently learned, but the I couldn't point out anybody else in the crowd.

I fiddled around with a smooth red object on the floor, my ears only half registering what the group had talked about. I let out a small chuckle at Harry trying to prove that he had not done much in his time at Hogwarts, and before long, a contract was passed around to the group. I gave it a look of suspicion, before signing it to not seem questionable. The meeting ended after a while, and I was about to leave with Cody before Harry called me over.

He shuffled on his feet, and I was beginning to become impatient. "What is it?" I said, sending him a glare. He froze before gulping and starting to speak.  
"Well...I saw your sword earlier while you were having that..." he paused, and I knew he was talking about my dream, though I hadn't recalled taking it out. "And I was wondering if you could teach combat to our group. Or something?

I froze in my spot at his request. "No, no...It's a family heirloom..." I mumbled, "I don't know how to use it." I took off, quickly walking over to Cody and exiting. He probably hadn't heard the last part, though. I realized my stupidity in hinting that I had some sort of rich family, but there was no going back.

"What was that about?" Cody frowned, looking back as he tried to keep up with my hurried pace. I noticed how tensed up I was, and relaxed, slowing down to a more reasonable speed.

"Something about our Transfiguration essay, for homework." I said, trying to change the topic. But of course, Cody had to find something wrong in that statement.  
"But our Transfiguration homework was to practice transforming objects into something else, I thought?" Yup, the aforementioned homework did not exist. The price for not paying attention in class (Much to Hermione's chagrin).

Damn Athena and her children's wits, I thought, ignoring the thunderclap in the distance. Once Cody knew I wasn't going to reply, he remained oddly silent, with a calculating look on his face.

Dinner was starting soon by the time we got back, and I quickly blended into the shadows so I could stay in my dorm. Why? Because naturally I had to Iris Message the crew in the Argo II to let them know I was alive. Not that they would have worried much.

Students started to rush past me, and I swiftly walked over to my bed, sitting down.

I pulled out a little spray bottle which created mist (Ideal for creating rainbows, of course) and tossed a spare drachma, before calling for Annabeth. She was the one I knew the most, and kind of tried to be a sister figure for me after Bianca died, mostly out of pity though. Not only that, but I had to see if Percy and Annabeth made it out alive.  
Much to my happiness, both of them were intact, and Annabeth was resting on Percy's shoulder. "Pssst. Annabeth...Percy..." Percy's eyes flew open, and Riptide sprung into his hands as a crazed look showed up on his face. He immediately pulled it back after he saw me, and looked a bit more relaxed. Annabeth woke up, blinking her eyes sleepily.

"Wha-? Nico? What are you wearing..." Beautiful greeting there Annabeth. I bet it took you a millisecond to think of that one.

"Nothing. Look, I have some stuff to do for my dad. Just don't worry about me." I started, before quickly adding something onto my statement, "Talk in code names, Owl Head. Wouldn't want anyone listening in.

Annabeth was about to say something, before Percy cut her off, "Where are you? Gods, our plan to win would have a much higher chance of succeeding if you were here." I cut through the message quickly, not wanting Annabeth to figure anything out. I was just about to head towards my handy training room to practice with my sword, before I heard a book fall.

A pair of shoes started to take off towards the hallway, and I saw a strip of black fabric from the school robes.

**»«-»«**

**HARRY POV**

I crouched near a stack of books, as I huddled underneath the invisibility cloak.

"Wha-? Nico? What are you wearing..." A girl with blond hair and a boy with black hair hovered in the air before Nico. I knew I was right to see why he wasn't at dinner. He was downright suspicious. I had a feeling he wasn't halfblooded, because only pureblood family's tended to have family heirlooms. Especially ones as menacing as his sword.

"Nothing." he swiftly replied, though he was clearly wearing clothes, "Look, I have some stuff to do for my dad. Just don't worry about me. Talk in code names if you have to, Owl Head. Wouldn't want anyone listening in." What exactly was Nico hiding? Both to me, and his apparent companions?

The blonde-haired girl was about to say something, before the boy didn't allow her to continue by speaking himself. "Where are you? God, our plan to win would have a much higher chance of success if you were here." Nico sliced his hand through the message, and the communication had been cut off. He definitely was hiding something. Most definitely.

I turned to leave, when a book got knocked over, and made a thud. I quickly rushed out into the hallway, not caring if he saw me.

All I knew was that Nico was probably a Death Eater, and he was exchanging info to both sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh. reminder that you can find this fanfic completely updated on wattpad and fanfiction. i'm still catching up on AO3.
> 
> warning tho, i think i am done with this fanfiction for good. as in. perma-hiatus. once this gets to the 18th chapter, there are veeeery high chances that i won't be updating it ever again.


	11. Distrust

**ANNABETH POV**

I scrunched up my face in confusion. It certainly didn't look like Nico was where he should be. He was acting awfully suspicious, and what he was wearing didn't help his situation. It certainly was not what he usually wore, or what anyone normal would wear, for that matter. I knew he was up to something, and I just didn't trust him.

I know he was like a younger brother to me, but you never know with children of the Big Three...Even My own boyfriend was unpredictable at times.

Percy looked down at me, resting my head on the crook of his neck and said, "What's on your mind, Anna Banana? Wise girl things?"

I mumbled something that sounded roughly like me agreeing, and slowly fell to sleep.

I would discuss the whole Nico problem to them once the war was over. As big of a problem as this could potentially be, there were still some things that are more

* * *

 

**NICO POV**

I peaked above his quill, looking up at Harry. It was hard to keep up with school work and get enough information on the Wizarding World, especially with somebody (Which I'm pretty sure is Harry) trying to poke straight into my 'other-worldly business'.

Harry stood up, speaking with a slight waver to his voice. "Not at all well…I think I'll go to the Hospital Wing…" Professor Binns nodded with a slight daze in his eyes, from the confusion of teaching for so long. He was obviously not seeing that Harry was up to something, especially since he was holding an owl behind him.

I got up silently, holding a finger to my lips, to tell Binns to shush. Hermione looked at me with wide eyes, but before she could register it was me, I hid in the shadows that blanketed the right side of the classroom. I slowly followed Harry as he closed the door.

Harry had stopped by a window after a while, looking at the landscape beyond Hogwarts. By now, he had put his owl on his shoulder. It was a snowy owl, that turned towards my general direction, and let out a feeble hoot. The owl could sense my presence, and it was now that I noticed its wing had feathers sticking out at the oddest angles.

Its amber eyes were a duller orange as the owl clutched feebly onto life, finally found eye contact with me, and it was then I saw the odd bent angle its wing was in.

Before long, Harry, arrived at a room, where Professor McGonagall quickly appeared. Harry got reprimanded, due to McGonagall mistaking that a Harry got another detention. Of course, Professor Grubby-Plank got called over to check on the owl.

"Be aware, Harry...Airwaves are potentially being monitored," Professor McGonagall spoke in a low, worried voice. Harry nodded briefly glancing over sadly at his owl, before looking at the note Professor McGonagall had given him.

I quickly peeked over his shoulder, and read the words "Same time, same place." I felt a sense of curiosity wash over me. Where and when? I guess I would have to pull an all-nighter following Harry. Not that I didn't do that, what with all the nightmares of that...Pit.

Harry was about to exit the room, before turning around to say something to the Gryffindor head. I hear him faintly whisper (Probably because Professor Grubby-Plank was in the vicinity), "I think the transfer Nico di Angelo is a Death Eater...Everything about him says that. I even saw him contact people outside of Hogwarts."

I froze. Were my actions really that suspicious? As stupid as the whole "Death Eater" name sounded, the way he dropped the level of his voice at the mention of this supposed group made me think that they were not a good thing in the wizarding world. Yet another thing to tell my dad. Certainly worth getting out of the class.

"Mister Potter, there is absolutely no reason to resort to such assumptions." Professor McGonagall said, a frown on her face. Clearly Harry assumed a lot of things, because the Transfiguration professor was acting as if it was a normal procedure.

Harry mumbled something that sounded like, "Whatever." before turning away to exit the room. I followed him, sneaking through the shadows. I had to stop myself from lightly laughing at how screwed up I would be if I didn't have my powers for whatever reason.

I must've jinxed it, because soon, my step began to waiver in drowsiness, and my feet left the ground. I became extremely worried as I felt the shadow's protective blanket unwrap itself, and I thudded the ground.

I faintly saw Harry turn towards me, as my vision slowly ebbed away to black. So much for getting the trio to trust me, to get as much intel on the wizarding world as possible. Then again, I could always act the other side.

* * *


	12. Six

**NICO POV**

My eyes opened groggily, taking in the scene around me. I hissed in pain, clutching my left side, as my eyes slowly scanned the area around me.

As I thought. I was in the Underworld. I honestly should've expected it soon. As I remembered something, I froze. What exactly had I learned from my mission so far?

"What have you learned so far?" I looked straight in front of me, to see my father in his signature position in a chair. He somehow always managed to look so strict, yet uncaring at the same time.

"Well? Don't tell me it's another fail. I have other things for you to do." I winced. A sigh could be heart, and I saw my dad lean back in his chair. "6 months. That's it."

I gawked at him. He never had given such lenient amounts of time to complete something for him. My face fell, and I spoke with a grim tone. "What's the catch?" It had to be something, staying in the Underworld for a year, doing something a bit extra, there had to be something.

"This is something I need to know about. Hecate has been working under-radar for quite a while now. I know it's a school." He paused, narrowing his eyes, and tapping his foot on the floor. "Just don't get caught. By the Seven, or the wizarding society."

I quickly looked to the side. "About that…" Before I could say anything, though, I found myself opening my eyes, in a familiar white place.

No. Not heaven. Who in Hades believes in heaven?

A certain school hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why tf did past me write such a short chapter? eh, i won't question him.


	13. Search

**HARRY POV**

I heard the sound of something heavy hit the floor, and I turned, wincing. My eyes were wide when it was none other then Nico. I knew I didn't trust him, but I had to do something.

My feet started to unconsciously run to where I saw Ron and Hermione in the courtyard, and I frantically told them what had happened. Hermione rose an eyebrow.

"You complete and utter  _idiot_." She said, putting emphasis on the last word. "Get him to the Hospital Wing!" Hermione looked around frantically, her eyes finally settling on a certain pink toad. Hermione's eyebrows knitted together, before she rushed forward and explained the situation to Umbridge.

"Has she lost her mind?" Ron said, looking at me. I shrugged, not even having a proper answer. I groaned, as I realized that someone would be asking me what I had been doing roaming the hallways during a class period.

I quickly thought of a plan, closing my eyes and smiling as I had something cooked up. When I looked up, and saw both girls gone. I sighed, turning around and starting down my way to the Potions classroom, only to see Malfoy opening his big mouth, as usual...

* * *

I narrowed my eyes, fuming at the situation that had taken place in the hallways just minutes before. Though ten house points were nothing compared to all Gryffindor had lost in the past, due to Snape, it was still going to accumulate to something more.

What I just couldn't place my finger on, though, was why Neville got so infuriated when Malfoy made that comment about being sent to St. Mungo's. I figured that all people had their secrets, as I myself did.

As I entered the room, I widened my eyes when I saw two people already in the classroom. "Well, that was quick!" I said, as I sat down next to Hermione, as I began to take my parchment out. She stared straight ahead, giving a slight nod of affirmation. "So, another visit from the 'High Inquisitor'" I spoke, in a mocking tone, wondering why she had no reaction.

Same nod.

I shrugged, carrying on with Snape's instructions to make a Strengthening Solution. I could feel my attention to what I was supposed to be doing wavering, as I saw Professor Umbridge inquiring Snape. "Salamander blood, Harry!" Hermione snapped at me, and I was out of my daze. "Not  _pomegranate juice_!" I smiled at her returning to her old self.

The class continued on, ending with Umbridge confronting Snape about his background. Serves him right, I thought. Unfortunately, I'd ended up having to write an extra essay on my complete and utter failures.

Not anything different then usual.

By the time they were finally dismissed, I had been grumbling a lot, and thinking about skiving off Divination to get the essay done. Obviously, someone was against that.

"Oh yeah, what happened with you and Umbridge?" I said, looking at Hermione. She was silent for a few seconds, before opening her mouth to speak. Even then, she was looking a bit unsure about what she was going to say.

"She reprimanded me for leaving her in the hallway with a bunch of flying feet, but I don't think even she would leave a kid like that. Just got him to the Hospital Wing."

"What was he even doing? Spy work?" I widened my eyes. It had probably occurred to me, but in attempting to not mess up making a potion (Not that it had done anything for me), I must've forgotten the fact that that was probably what happened. What if he was reporting to Voldemort? What if he managed to intercept the message between Sirius and I, if he knew what it meant? And why did he pass out?

"So many questions..." I groaned, rubbing at my scar. It was a habit I had taken to.

It was then that, Ron probably had one of those rare moments when he said something extremely smart, and not related to food. "Why don't we skip on lunch," I looked confused for a moment, "And look through Nico's stuff. While he's still in the Hospital Wing."

Hermione grinned, before suddenly rocketing forward, and leaping up the steps of the Grand Staircase. Ron and I exchanged a look, before attempting to catch up with her.

"So, why are you willing to skip out on lunch?" I said as smoothly as I could while I was panting in an attempt to catch up with Hermione. It wasn't often that Ron didn't eat a meal, if not never.

"Possible war prevails over food." He was remarkably efficient by not saying much.

By the time we made it to the to the Gryffindor commonroom, I was crouching on the ground, catching my breath. "Harry, we still have to go to the dorms." Ron said, chuckling. Was it just me or was he acting extremely out of character? Seems like this 'Nico' (If that was even his name) was having quite the profound affect on all of us. It wasn't like I was worried though, they would be back to normal.

When we entered the boys' dorms (Hermione was lucky she didn't get the slide), Hermione sat there rifling through Nico's stuff. "Um. How do you know where he sleeps?" I asked nervously.

She held up a stick, "Black wand. I would think it's pretty obvious." She had a point, I had never seen his type of wood before. "What I have to ask is why he isn't bringing it to his classes. I've only ever seen him use it when absolutely necessary for classes, and when I was teaching him." Her fingers started to tap the side of Nico's bed, on the wooden part, as she looked all around his things. "Though he usually fails at it. Elementary American magic." Hermione scoffed, and shook her head.

Hermione got up, brushing off the general location where he knees would be. "Nothing else. Except this." She took out a small little (black) wallet.

I saw her hands tremble a bit, and I was about to tell her to look at it, before Ron beat me to it. "Well? Open it already!"

"But isn't it his private business?" She whispered softly. Ron grumbled, and snatched it out of her hand, yanking it open. Immediately a paper fell from it, weathered by age. There was now a small crack going through about a quarter way down, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of how Ron handled the paper.

I crouched down, picking it up, and treating it like a delicate glass.

There was a woman in a silky black dress, and a black veiled hat. Everything about her looked fancy, down to the white gloves and necklace of pearls. On her shoulder sat a happy little boy, and a girl who looked roughly a year or two older, tugging at the woman's hair.

Everything about their cloth style screamed 'old-fashioned', and I wondered who these people were. They were obviously a family, but what relation did they have to Nico? Why did he keep such an old picture.

I flipped over the picture, to read, " _Don't forget your first family. -H_ ".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently some guy named verbooom helped beta-read this, and while i don't remember him that well anymore, hella thanks to him.


	14. Inquiries and Lies

**HERMIONE POV**

"You do know what we need to do about this, right?" I said, asking the two boys. I'm sure Ron wouldn't like it at all.

Ron winced. "Clean our dorm areas?" He spoke, casually looking towards where his bed probably was. A heap of robes, smuggled food, and class materials which weren't with him for some reason.

I sighed. "Yes. That and—" Harry cut me off with a frown before I could continue speaking.

"Skipping dinner to ask Nico stuff?" He chuckled nervously. Ron's face slowly turned pale, and he fell to his knees, dramatically reaching his hands to the ceiling. It was easy to imagine his stomach already rumbling, and I felt the tiniest bit of sympathy that he would have to go without two meals.

I rolled my eyes. Either way, all three of us would be skipping out on food. Maybe we could tickle a pear later. "Our business here is done. Let's leave, please?" I began walking down the stairs to the grand staircase before waiting for a response, but not before getting my class materials for the next half of the day.

* * *

**NICO POV**

I took in a sharp breath, my instincts suddenly snapping to life. My first thought was of water. Though I technically wasn't in the Underworld, my body probably registered the lack of hydration as an actual thing. "Water," I croaked, after realizing that Madam Pomfrey was probably off helping someone who had gotten accidentally hexed.

Sounded like something that would happen here, at least. "Coming!" I heard a voice somewhere nearby. I looked over to the right to see a familiar lady hustling over towards me. I saw, in amusement, that there was in fact somebody with quite the swollen tongue.

I was relieved to see she came with a glass of water. She pressed the back of her hand to my forehead, and frowned, before giving me a glass of water. "I really don't think you have a fever, but…"

Oh yeah. There was the occasional disadvantage of high heat and dehydration after coming back from the Underworld. Especially if you happened to not have any food, which is probably something you would want to do if you didn't want to be trapped in the 'damned' place (Haha, puns).

"Did you have permission to leave the classroom? I would ask Professor Binns, but…" Madam Pomfrey shook her head and sighed. "Well, if you went without permission, don't do it again. I know you were sneaking around, though I won't bother to ask why." She chastised.

I smiled. Glad to know she respected people's privacy. I myself completely hated when people tried to learn more then I wanted them to know. "By the way, those three kids always running around causing trouble and injuries, they stopped by at lunch to say they were coming over at dinner.

"Strange considering they had come at three different times in the day. They're certainly expressing an interest in you, I suppose they'd want to be your friend." I shook my head.

"That's definitely not it. Rather, I'd say they're suspicious of me. Have you ever noticed how I'm supposed to be in 4th year? Almost as if Professor Dumbledore knows more about me then he should."

Her eyes sparkled with mirth, "He does odd things for odd reasons. You should have heard his beginning-of-the-year speech four years ago." She chuckled, lightly covering her mouth with her hand.

She was certainly a more traditional person, much like the castle. Sometimes I do wish I remembered what it was like in the 1940s, around when I was born. Shame, all the memories I had then were probably replaced by misery along with other things.

I really wondered what those three wanted from me. After all, what could they have possibly thought of me, other then me possibly being a 'death eater', as I have heard through certain suspicious sources. At least, that they were comfortable with inquiring me about.

I took a huge swig of water, feeling my thirst becoming only stronger the more I thought about things, and my life in general.

Deep, right?

Madam Pomfrey sent a worried glance towards me, rushing to get one more glass. Sure, there would probably be more dishwashing for someone to do.

That was one thing I wanted to figure out in the six months I had left. What exactly was the driving force behind all the menial tasks in Hogwarts? Clearly, the pureblooded wizards wouldn't want anything to do with tasks they would describe as 'for bottom feeders who can't support themselves'. At least, I could imagine it.

My head fell back onto the pillow after two or three glasses of water. Trips to the Underworld were quite exhausting.

* * *

I groaned at a light shining in my eyes and disturbing my beauty sleep. I hissed at the cause of it in frustration, I was just getting to the good part of the dream (Which in itself is quite a rare thing). "You three, don't do that!" Madam Pomfrey screeched in a voice quite different from when she was caring for someone. "Oh, it's pointless." She continued, she said in a disappointed face, after seeing me glaring at the trio of friends. I was currently wondering where the heck the flashlight came from, in a place filled with quite a few people who knew not much about a nice thing called electricity.

"What is it now?" I whined. Hey, I might be considered the 'Ghost King' by many demigods, but I was fourteen. I could get  _very_  cranky.

"This." Harry held up a photo with dull colors for this day and time. I saw a crack running halfway through, and I winced, holding out my hands for it. He frowned and dropped it in my hand. "It not that big earlier, I swear!"

"Whatever." I snarled. "It was perfect the last I checked." I smiled at the little happy family scene with my mother, and flipped it over. I've always wanted to crumple it up into a little ball whenever I saw the message from my dad, but it was too precious to waste like that.

Ron groaned in frustration. "We're missing dinner for this, okay? Just tell us for crying out loud. Who are those people." Now that was the tricky part. I obviously couldn't tell them the truth, as it was apparent through the clothes, posture of my mother, and the overall scheme of the photo that it was from a long time ago.

To be specific, the 1940s, not that it played any kind of importance in the current situation, except for the fact that it was around the time I should have lived in.

"M-my great grandparents." I stuttered, a single tear falling from my eyes. How much I wanted to just spill about my whole life. It was quite hard to resist the temptation.

Hermione carefully snatched it out of my hand (How you do that with me, I'm not sure), and inspected it. "Why does that boy look pretty similar to you?

I sighed, "That's my grandfather, Nicholas. I was named after him." I think I could evade these questions pretty well, with just a bit of remembering the good ol' Stoll training.

"And the message on the back?" She pressed on further. She acted like what a reporter at the Daily Puppet (Something along those lines, strange wizards) would sound like.

"My father, who disowned me for reasons I don't even know, Haden di Angelo." I spoke, internally grinning at how well things were going for me. "He honestly has no right to.

"Now is that all? Because I'm sure you guys would want to eat dinner in the little time you have left." Ron started trying to quickly hurry away, before Harry held out an arm and held him by the collar of his robes. Ron slumped up dejectedly, clearly wanting to take the opportunity of food.

Harry smiled, "Are you a Death Eater?" I snorted, clearly this guy knew nothing about proper inquiry.

"Death Eater?" I said cluelessly, even though I very well knew that they were probably nothing good. "That's an odd name? I don't think so."

Hermione started to leave, rapidly motioning Harry and Ron towards her, in a signal to exit. I could see her frantically explaining something to them, hearing 'suspicious of us', 'lying about something', and 'untreatable'.

She looked back and me, and I quickly looked at the wall, seeming bored.


	15. Mythomagic and the World Wide Web

**NICO POV**

Nico was currently doodling with a pencil that he managed to get from a muggleborn. Wizards were notoriously hilarious with their odd preference to continue using quills. It must've fit Ravenclaw study aesthetic or something, because quills were just as functional as a plain old mechanical pencil, but more infuriating.

He was penciling in the curls of Rachel Dare's red, red hair, when someone tapped him on his shoulder. Nico was half-prepared to whip around and bring out his sword, but he knew that he was (relatively) safe in the walls of Hogwarts.

When he saw Hermione, he sighed. "What do you want?" Hermione paced around for a few seconds, before turning back towards Nico.

"I believe that we have our usual tutoring session today." Hermione said calmly, watching his face carefully for a reaction.

Nico slumped back in his delightfully rolly and distracting chair, running his hand through his hair. He looked at Hermione, "Sorry, but I don't think I'm prepared to work with you yet. You guys did go through some of my important belongings."

"I understand." Hermione said, turning on her heel towards the small collection of books in the Gryffindor common room.

Nico looked back at his drawing, but wasn't interested in working on it anymore. He got up, pushing the chair backwards and walking aimlessly. The paper that he was drawing on was crinkled in his fist.

It was the time just after dinner, and everyone was partaking in a casual night, much like many others. The room was buzzing with a faint chatter, and most of the couches were taken up by students who were either playing games or working. Nico's previous seat was near a desk by the window, giving him a clear view of the castle. The whole scene was actually rather comforting.

Nico looked around for somewhere to sit, before he saw a seat next to Fred and George. The Weasley twins, he thought spitefully. He had to admit, he still had a grudge on the Stoll twins, and as far as he was aware, those two idiots weren't any better. Regardless, he still walked up to them and sat down.

For some reason, one of them (he still wasn't able to discern which one was which) was wearing a black trench coat. He sat down across from them, and leaned towards them. "And what would you two be doing?"

Fred and George Weasley grinned at each other. It was interesting how the two of them were hardly referred to as individual entities. One was more likely to hear "Fred and George", instead of just "Fred" or "George". "Why, Nico! We're only playing the most fantastic trading card game, for muggles and wizards alike! Mythomagic!"

Nico bit his cheek in contemplation, before sucking it up and holding his hand out. "I have long lost my old cards and figurines, except for one, so might you be kind to lend me some random cards?" He knew it probably wasn't a good idea due to the nature of his opponents, but Nico still had that foolish confidence of his from before.

He knew that he had dissed the game before, but he'd become more somber and less emotional since then (two qualities which seemed to go hand in hand, but contrast quite a bit). He felt cards being placed in his hand, and he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on.

Nico's face fell when he had five Dionysus cards. Is that even possible? He wondered. Nico grinned when he thought about his words spoken years before, that had saved Percy from the actual Dionysus. "Oh, so you want to play that way?"

One of the twins whispered to the other, though not that discreetly. "I don't think that expression on his face is physically possible." Nico was definitely intended to hear that.

* * *

**HERMIONE POV**

Hermione stormed down the fourth floor corridor, looking for that one peculiar Ravenclaw student she had become acquainted with over the years. Now, where was he?

She finally saw him, with his odd 3D glasses adorned on his face. Hermione had yet to discover what the point of them were, or if they were just there to appear like a total arsehole. "Hello. Might you be able to get me onto the web again?

He sighed, starting to speak with his familiar lithp—lisp. "Well, we didn't meet up for nothing, HN." Honestly, she had no clue what his name was, but he obviously did since she already had her own personal two-letter nickname. It was hardly as if the whole school didn't know of Harry Potter and co.

"Alright, here we go." He said, pulling out a laptop out of his robe, and going down onto the floor. How did he managed to carry so many odd things with such ease? Hermione sat down next to him, as he pushed the computer towards her. "Just leave it at the usual spot in the library. If you're looking at porn, then please, use incognito." He left, waving Hermione off.

Hermione made a face at the last part of his statement, shaking it off. She had more important things to do. Hermione had actually intended to do this a while back.

She pulled up Google Chrome, typing "nico di angelo" into the search bar. There weren't many results. No Facebook, no Twitter, no MySpace, no nothing. Usually that wasn't something you saw for wizards who had a muggle parent. All she could find in the images bar was a blurry picture of a boy fighting something even more blurry in a city, and that picture from before that was in Nico's possession.

She clicked the first picture, but it just led to some odd conspiracy theory website that didn't even mention his name. She had no clue why that was, but google loved to make screw ups. For the second picture, it just led to an obituary for someone named Maria di Angelo, which was probably his great great grandmother. My, that's confusing, she thought. Hermione did a reverse google search to see if she could find anything with that picture, as she thought about her interaction with Nico just an hour ago.

He was clearly offended by their intrusion of his privacy. Maybe it would have been better not to inquire him with the picture. Actually, maybe they shouldn't have touched his stuff at all. At the same time, it wasn't their fault that he was being wholly suspicious. Then again, it was Hermione, Ron and Harry who had been having their suspicions in the first place. Was it even possible for a kid that young to be a Death Eater? No, of course not. Perhaps those people Harry had seen were just friends back at his old school?

Hermione snapped herself out of her daze, looking at the results. Now we're getting somewhere, she grinned. One of the results had her intrigued. It was a digital copy of a newspaper from the 1940s. Why people bothered with such trivial things would continue to confuse her, but news articles were great sources. "MARIA DI ANGELO KILLED IN HENLEY PARK HOTEL" it read.

Hermione clicked the article, which spoke of the mysterious death of the woman in the photo. Apparently no one else was in the hotel, and her family was only outside when it had happened. She wasn't sure what made Maria such a big shot, but maybe Nico's family name was a prominent one in America in the 1940s.

She didn't understand why Nico would have such an old picture. She didn't understand why it was given to him, or what the writing on the back meant.

She had one last idea, remembering a name Nico had said before. She went into the search bar once more, typing "haden di angelo". Nothing, except random links to people with similar names. Was there even a Haden di Angelo?

Hermione huffed. Well that was completely pointless. She was lucky that she was a frequent "customer" of the boy, or else she would be charged by the hour. He sure ran a tight business, and she was amazed when he gave her a full price discount.

It was clear that Nico was lying about a few things, but why? Hermione closed the laptop, standing back up and starting to walk to the library. She had to drop off the laptop so that the Ravenclaw boy could pick it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god did i actually cameo sollux captor in this story? wow.
> 
> also, before you ask, i KNOW (knew?) that muggle technology isn't supposed to work on hogwarts, but this guy is smart enough to work his way around it. because let's face it, kids always find a workaround to get to use their technology.


	16. Dumbledore's Army

As time passed, Annabeth had an increasing suspicion of what Nico was doing.  _Where is he that requires code names?_  She thought, narrowing her eyes.

She had definitely mellowed out more after coming out of Tartarus. Her time was spent looking at walls, just thinking. Thinking was an activity she usually did, but only when she was occupied with some other task. It was a consequence of ADHD, just thinking was never good enough.

She didn't want to imagine how it be if the Doors of Death were farther away from the Argo II. She had to do something productive, and that would be ensuring that Nico wasn't doing something stupid.

Annabeth got up, brushing off her jeans and pacing around, before getting out a drachma and a little spray bottle with a source of light to mimic the sun.  _Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering._  She thought, tossing up the coin.  _Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Camp Half-Blood._  Annabeth picked someone she knew would be there, since pretty much anyone would work.

"Huh?" Rachel said unintelligibly.

Annabeth laughed a bit. "Okay, Rachel, I have a job for you. You have to get someone to find the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo, and then send somewhere there."

"Sure, no problem. But why?"

"Oh, we kind of lost him somewhere apparently. He's being extremely suspicious though."

Rachel shrugged. "Alright." Annabeth saw a hand reach out, and the message was cut off abruptly.

* * *

"It's raining a lot." Nico commented off-handedly, hearing the pounding of rain that hit the windows of the classroom. He was currently in Care of Magical Creatures, the class having been relocated due to the immense amount of rain. He wasn't sure who was sitting next to him, but he learned pretty soon.

"Well, of course. Quidditch practice got cancelled today, as well. So soon after the club was approved, no?" Hermione was kind of rambling, and was clearly distracted by something.

Nico was confused by her last comment. "Approved?" Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Yes, approved. Did you not see the latest Educational Decree? Anyway, all the clubs have to be approved by Umbridge in order to continue running."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose that this has anything to do with the…Hog's Head?" Hermione nodded, and Nico got the message. That was the sole reason that the Decree was made. "You had to have suspected it, that was a horrible spot."

Hermione glared at him. She ignored Nico for a few minutes to pay attention to Hagrid, before turning back towards him. "I don't suppose you heard about Trelawney and the score she got from Umbridge?"

"Well, I was kind of out of commission for a bit, but would you mind enlightening me?" Nico had a better question to think on himself, though. Why wasn't Hermione pouncing on him about snooping on Harry?

"Oh, she got a bad score apparently. She's probably going to be fired."

Nico shook his head in slight amusement. "I thought you didn't take Divination."

Hermione grinned. "I don't, but luckily for me, I got two idiots who do. I'm not sure whether I'm glad she's going to be fired or mad at Umbridge."

"She isn't that bad, some of her words do hold some weight. Though she usually sticks to the givens, honestly."

"Well, I think that every single word of hers is complete and utter rubbish, and find much more comfort in trusting numbers to do the prediction." Hermione said in an oddly sweet voice. Nico shrugged, paying attention to the class again.

In the evening, Nico went to his little practice spot to complete his normal routine of practicing with his sword and practicing some of his less…physical abilities.

It wasn't that he had to. He just needed to blow off steam every once in a while, and keep his skills in good maintenance in case anything attacked. While Hogwarts was much more safer than the rest of the world, with its high amount of protections and non-godly blood, he wouldn't be surprised if some monsters decided to drop by.

The room that he used was actually quite handy. After a bit of careful testing, he noticed that it was modifiable depending on the purpose its user needed to fulfill.

Which was exactly why he stood rigid when the landscape of the room changed. Nico's breathing sped up, as he quickly slashed up a skeleton before anyone saw them. The people entering the room clearly saw the last bit of the motion, but not what he was attacking in particular.

"So you can fight with a sword!" Harry exclaimed. "Wait, how did you know about this place?" Nico raised the sword and slipped it into an imaginary sword holder strapped to his back, making the sword disappear. There wasn't actually a sword holder though, it was just easier to put it away with the visualization.

"I just found it, and I've been using it. What brings you here?" Nico replied in a flat tone.

Hermione's eyes widened, as she realized something. "Oh my god, Nico, I forgot to tell you that we were going to be holding the Defense Against Dark Arts practical club here."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. I don't mind." Nico said. Actually, he very much did mind. Was she trying to get rid of him? He turned towards the door when more people came, giving a slight wave.

One of them asked where they were, and Harry had explained. Hermione was reading a book on self-defense, and quickly put it away when Harry had closed the door. Nico sat on one of the cushions on the floor, screwing with the ring on his finger.

The group discussed the area for a quick moment, before Harry said something that likely meant that the meeting was really going to start. "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and—er—" Hermione raised her hand, and brought up the fact that the unofficial club should have a leader.

Nico looked up at everyone in a slightly bored manner. Hadn't they already settled this last time? Well, might as well make it official. When they called a vote on who wanted Harry as a leader, everyone raised their hands, including Nico.

"Er—right, thanks," Harry said awkwardly. "What now, Hermione?" Jeez, this guy really didn't know what he was doing. Well, it wasn't like he could screw up that much, so Nico really didn't mind. He personally couldn't do much better, having the magical defense knowledge of a second year.

"I also think we ought to have a name." Hermione said.  _Way to drive the meeting, Hermione._  Nico thought, shaking his head in slight amusement. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina called out.

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" One of the twins said. Nico snorted, hiding his face in his hand. This lot of people were completely ridiculous.

Hermione frowned, "No, I was thinking more along the lines of something ambiguous, so that it can be referred to safely outside of meetings."

Cho Chang gave a suggestion that wasn't all too bad, eventually. "The Defense Association? It can be called the DA for short."

"Yeah, the DA's good." Ginny said, before grinning. "Only, let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"

Nico smiled, attempting to hide his laughter. "Let's go with it." There was a bit of murmuring, as everybody came to agree.

"All in favor of the DA?" Hermione called out. Most people raised their hand. "That's a majority—motion passed!" Harry could say he was the leader all he wanted, but Hermione would probably be the moving force behind the group of students.

Hermione wrote "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY" on a paper, with signatures, in order to make it all official. Harry stood up as Hermione sat down, calling attention to the group. "Right. Shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic, but I've found it really useful—'

Zacharias Smith snorted, "Oh please. Is that really going to help us? We are talking about You-Know-Who." Nico sighed, leaning back on the wall near him. Yeah, he kind of saw this coming.

Harry narrowed his eyes, before speaking quietly. "I've used it against him. It saved my life in June." Harry paused, eyes scanning over the whole group.

But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave." Harry said, pointing towards the door.

Nobody moved. Harry gave instructions to go into pairs to practice. Nico could tell that Harry wasn't used to giving instructions to a group of people, but he was doing pretty well.

Harry went towards Neville when he noticed that he was partnerless, not noticing that Nico hadn't paired up with anyone else. After all, Cody was working with Layla. Nico somehow completely missed her during their first meeting, but he wasn't surprised or offended that they paired up. They were much better friends.

When Neville got his wand disarmed by Harry, Nico cringed a bit, walking up to Harry. "I'm not all that good either, I can practice with him."

Neville frowned at Nico's insinuation that he was bad at casting. Nico gave him a quick glance, reaching out to shake hands with him. "Uh, yeah, sure. Sorry, didn't see you. I'll just go see how everyone else is doing." Harry walked off towards a pair that wasn't doing much better themselves.

Nico turned towards Neville pulling out his wand. "Are you ready?" Nico asked. Neville nodded in response, holding up his wand. He probably couldn't help Neville that much, but they could try giving each other pointers. Neville honestly probably knew more than he did. Nico held up three fingers on his left hand, counting down to one. When they hit one, they both shouted "Expelliarmus!"

When Nico's wand was knocked out of his hand, he hissed under his breath, before noticing that Neville had also been disarmed. Despite that, Neville looked really, really happy. "I did it! I've never done it before, but…I did it!" Nico grinned at him, giving a nod of affirmation.

He turned around to see how everyone else was doing. Yeah, there was a lot of work to be done. He wasn't sure when they first learned the Disarming Charm, but it had to have been a while ago. Nico himself had not known of it until Hermione pointed out his lack of knowledge about basic spells in one of his tutoring sessions.

Nico saw Fred and George doing a small prank on Zacharias that caused the wand to always fly out of his hand when his partner hadn't even casted. Naturally, he gave them a thumbs up. They had gained an odd sort of respect for Nico when he won a game of Mythomagic against them with the crappiest deck ever.

After practicing a bit more with Neville, the two of them had a few improvements, especially after Harry came up to give them some pointers. Yeah, Nico kind of sucked at channeling magic through a medium like a wand. When Harry blew a whistle, Neville and Nico turned to look at him, but he was just getting a bit frustrated with the failures of the group overall.

When Hermione checked the time, the group prepared to return to the common rooms. Filch would be making rounds around the campus, looking for students out past curfew.

The group agreed to meet next Wednesday night, members from each of the houses leaving to their respective houses. Nico was smiling as he left, talking to Cody while Layla looked at him suspiciously.  _She has major trust problems._

Nico liked this sense of belonging. It probably couldn't be permanent, but he would enjoy it while it lasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when i still was able to write in third person pov without randomly switching over to second person pov without even noticing that i switched povs? yeah. good times. you can thank homestuck for that.
> 
> uh. shit. apparently i switched from first person to third person out of nowhere. nowadays i never write in first person, ever, so i guess that started happening around the time that i wrote this chapter?


	17. Gryffindor v Slytherin

"You're coming to the Quidditch game, right?" Cody said, waving his hands around dramatically. "I mean, you are a Gryffindor."

Nico paused in the hallway a moment, furrowing his eyebrows.  _What is that again? Oh, that thing that Ron and Harry have been talking about._  Cody looked at Nico curiously, tugging him by the sleeve. "Dude, we still have to get to History of Magic."

"Uh, yeah. Is it worth coming?" Nico asked, watching Cody as he reacted with a gasp.

"Why of course Nico! You have to come, I mean, Gryffindor is going against Slytherin and no one wants them to win except Slytherin themselves."

Nico quirked an eyebrow. "Is the whole school just against Slytherin for some reason?" Cody shoved Nico in the arm laughing.

"Duh. Nothing good comes out of Slytherin."

"Aren't they just ambitious or something like that? It would be hard to say that every single Slytherin is bad."

Cody snorted, "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. You should want Gryffindor to win, I mean you are one."

Nico shrugged. "Never been one for sports. It's a complicated culture thing with me." He wasn't into sports when he was about 10, and he wasn't into sports now. Nico guessed that Volleyball was pretty cool, but he preferred Capture the Flag.

"So you're not even interested in flying?" Cody said, wrinkling his nose.

"Ah, I. Have a slight phobia of flying, I guess you would call it? Bad experiences, I guess."

"Must've been a nightmare when you came flying into the train."

"Oh, yeah. I guess you heard about that then..." Nico said, trailing off quietly.

"They had to repair the train, of course I did. How heavy are you, even? Like a hundred pounds?"

Nico laughed nervously, "I don't know, I just don't eat much. If I knew how I did it, I'd tell you." The two of them entered the classroom, just on time for class to start.

Cody was cool, even though he was a bit too curious for Nico's liking. Plus, he had that slightly overprotective girlfriend of his. Nico had a feeling he might be interpreting their friendship wrong, though.

* * *

"Am I supposed to be here?" Nico said, pointing at the spectator tower that clearly had Slytherin colors. Layla shrugged, with a grin.

Apparently she still didn't like Nico, but she was completely nuts about Quidditch. Refused to play, according to Cody. "It doesn't matter." Cody said, casually waving off Nico. "They're just colors, they change depending on the match.

When the game finally started, the crowd was thrown into a loud cheer, but what stood out was a group of Slytherin kids yelling out a chant of sorts. Nico frowned a bit as he heard the clear verbal attack on Ron.  _Was that what those odd badges at breakfast were about?_  He thought.

Cody and Layla were entranced by the rhythm of the game already, which Nico couldn't begin to understand. There was just a bunch of people flying here and there with no purpose, for all he knew. It wasn't like he was actually going to take the effort to understand the game once he was invited. He still looked out at the game in a slight disinterest, though.

He could tell when Gryffindor was at some sort of deficit though, and it definitely wasn't looking all that good for them. "So, boy, you decided to come to the match? You don't seem that interested." Someone spoke, drawing out their vowels. Nico turned towards the noise, seeing a girl waving at him.

"Cassidy." The girl held out her hand, standing up at her full height. Towering over Nico? Ha, never. She was actually really tall, though. Cassidy narrowed her ice blue eyes when Nico didn't returned the motion. Nico awkwardly held out his hand, shaking hers.

"Sorry, and I know you how?" Nico asked. He noted that Cassidy was a Slytherin, if it wasn't obvious by her attitude and robes.

"Oh, you don't." She said with a pleasant smile. "I've just been watching you, after some of your shenanigans in the beginning of the year. Question, are you actually fifteen?"

Shit, Nico thought. "Not yet, my birthday is in November. One more month." Okay, so many it was one year and one month before he would turn fifteen. Why was he put in fifth year, again? He would be lying if he said he understood the logic of the headmaster at least half of the time.

"Cool. What's your name again?"

"Nico." He replied simply, turning away from her.

Cassidy laughed for no apparent reason. "Well, as you can see, we're totally winning against you guys, so I'm just going to leave to a different stand so you stop distracting me. You can be my good luck charm." Nico looked back at Cassidy, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Definitely the eccentric type, but not like Dumbledore or Luna Lovegood.

Nico stared out at the game again, watching as Slytherin scored on Gryffindor time and time again. He had no clue as to what the purpose of each and every ball was, in any case.

Nico froze up as he felt something land on his head. His sight was obscured by a flash of fire, as he landed on soil. Nico had experienced this sensation before, and he knew exactly what it was. "What the Hades, Fawkes?" Nico said, more than pissed off. He glanced at his surroundings, finding himself in an area with trees rising up ominously to cover the sky.

Fawkes flew down from his head, screeching at Nico. "Stupid overgrown chicken." He hissed. Even if he wasn't paying attention to the game, that was a completely perfect friendship bonding time. Right? Unfortunately for Nico, Fawkes disappeared seconds after. What was the purpose of him to take me here? He thought.

His question was soon answered, as two Dementors approached him. He wasn't particularly knowledgable on the creatures, except that they descended from some aspect associated with Thanatos. He figured as much when Hermione was attempting to explain the concept of them to him. It was clear that they wanted to confront him for some reason, though. Was Fawkes in cahoots with Dementors?

One of the Dementors hands slid out of its shadow sleeve things, and began to quickly make motions with his hands. Sign language? Yeah, he had no clue what they were attempting to say, as he didn't understand British Sign Language. ASL and BSL were very different.

"Can you speak or?" Nico sighed exasperatedly. He didn't want to have to deal with death stuff so soon after speaking with his dad.

The other Dementor stepped forward, rasping out quiet words. "Latins coming."

"Lat—Romans?" Nico said, his eyes wide. "No, no, that makes no sense, they can't come here. Why?"

"You." He should've seen it when that hellhound came, hostile to him. Not safe for a child of Hades, but a child of Pluto.

"How do you know this?" Nico asked. The Dementors drifted off though, unwilling to answer his question. Great, now he was stuck in a dangerous forest, with no clue how to get out. Who knew when the Romans would come? Any preparations of his would be fruitless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the story picks up. except it doesn't. because this is it. this is the end, my friends. i warned you in the summary, and i warned you in the beginning. i fuckin'. warned you. shit, sorry that i couldn't finish this story, but at this point it's extremely implausible and would require a reread of both series which i. can't do? i just don't have the energy, nor time.
> 
> but hey, if you're a homestuck, then you can check out some of my other stories for that sweet, sweet content. i'll just. advise that you stay away from the multi-chapter ones because none of the dozens of multi-chapters i have started have ever gotten any further than this one has. i am what the kids call an unreliable author.
> 
> *finger guns while backing away slowly, curtains closing in front of him as he is never again to be seen*

**Author's Note:**

> that's all, folks. no more of this story left.


End file.
